Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend
by Shadowman-DDT
Summary: After the fall of the Dark Lord, Hyrule was brought into a time of peace. As the ages passed, the battle between the Dark Lord and the Great Hero soon passed into legend. Centuries later, a young man named Link began having bizarre dreams.
1. Fate's Design

The Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend

Chapter One: Fate's design

After the fall of the Dark Lord, Hyrule was brought into a time of peace. Time passed, new threats came and were overcome, and Hyrule slowly changed. As the ages passed, the battle between the Dark Lord and the Great Hero soon passed into legend, and then myth, and finally was forgotten all together.

Centuries later, a young man named Link began having bizarre dreams. Wearing a green tunic and wielding a sword and shield, he battles a menacing dark-skinned man. His enemy knocks him to the ground and a girl with light brown hair and a regel dress comes to his aid. With both looking in fear, the evil man rose in the air and hurled a ball of magic at them. Link struck the ball with his sword sending it back at the man. It strikes him and paralyzes him in mid-air. The royal girl draws back a bow and fired a shining gold arrow at the evil man. Link jumps in the air, and just as he is about to stab his sword into the man's chest his alarm clock goes off and Link wakes up.

Link's eyes popped open but he stayed motionless in his bed, still trying to figure out the meaning of the dream, the same dream he's been having for the last two weeks. As he mulls over the significance of his re-accruing dream, a slender feminine hand blindly slaps him repeatedly in the face. "Anju? Anju." The half-asleep brunette stopped hitting him looking slightly confused. "The alarm is on your side of the bed."

Anju looks on the other side of the bed and stretches out her hand to stop the clock's buzzing. "Sorry Link." She bends down kisses her boyfriend and gets out of bed to go to the bathroom.

Link turns over to address the person sleeping next to him, "Kafei? Next time you and Anju want to sleep together, why don't you do it at her place?"

The purple-haired young man sits up and looks at Link, "What are you saying? You don't like having Anju over?"

Link sits up as well and rubs the sleep from his eyes, "No, it's not that. Trust me it's good to not have to cook every night, especially after work, but don't you think it would be better if you two had a bed to yourselves?"

"Link, come on you know we only have one bedroom."

"Yeah, but why do we only have one bed?"

"Have you seen the size of this room?" Kafei gestures to the rest of the room, which just barely has enough space for the bed they're sitting on and the two dressers against the wall. "Besides, it's not like we've ever had sex with you in the bed. That'd just be weird. Whenever you're in here before we get home we always use the couch."

"Yeah, I know I hear you." Link shutters at the thought for a moment. "Kafei, I'm just saying, Anju's family owns a hotel. There has to be plenty of rooms you two can use."

"That's a very good point Link," Kafei gives his roommate a pat on the back, "But you know the down side of your family owning a hotel?" Link gave him an unsure shrug, "They can burst in at any time to find a guy plowing their daughter."

"That's a good point too. But how does Anju feel about this?"

Kafei waves the question off and gets out of bed, he stretches as he continues, "Ahh, Link, we've been friends since we were kids. Hell, you helped get me and Anju together. Thrust me, she doesn't have a problem with you shearing a bed with us."

Link gives him a look, "You do know that makes it sound like we're polygamists or something right?"

Kafei blinked and thought about what he just said, then with a slightly disgusted look, "Yeah it kinda did didn't it?" Kafei shook his head to get the mental image out then left the room.

After showering and putting on his favorite green hoody with the symbol of Farore, his patron goddess, on its right shoulder, he enters the living room of his and Kafei's small apartment to see Anju in the kitchen making breakfast for the two roommates. She sang softly as she cooked and swayed gently to the music in her head. As Kafei enjoyed the show, Link sat down at the counter that divided the living room and the kitchen. Anju placed some scrambled eggs and a few strips of bacon on three plates and gave two to Link and Kafei. After taking one bite, Kafei closed his eyes savoring the taste, "Mmm. Honey, you are a great cook. Maybe even better that Link. No offence dude." Link just glared at him before continuing to eat. He had to admit though, Anju could cook.

Once they had finished breakfast, Kafei and Anju sat down on the couch and held each other as they watched T.V. Link grabbed his skateboard and headed for the door. "Dude we really need a car." He said as he opened the door.

Kafei shot back, "Yeah no kidding, man!" Link chuckled as he exited their apartment.

Link rides his skateboard down the street on his way to work, his mind wondering as he avoided any pedestrians he passes by. A few blocks away from his house, Link bypasses a girl about his age with light brown hair. When the girl's face is within Link's field of vision, time seems to slow down. He was mesmerized by her. She was pretty to be sure; soft features, baby blue eyes, with a fair complexion. But that wasn't why he couldn't take his eyes off her. This girl was the same girl from his dreams. Link was so focused on her that he lost his balance and fell off his skateboard. She runs over to Link to help him up, "Oh my god! Are you okay?"

Link was dumbfounded. Put her in a fancy dress and expensive jewelry and this girl, who Link has never seen in his life, would look exactly like the girl he'd been dreaming of for the past few weeks. And she was helping him after a fall, just like his dream. "What is going on?" He unwittingly said out loud.

"Oh, you must be dizzy from the fall. Come here." She took his face in to her hands and looked directly into his eyes. After examining them for a second she backed off, "It doesn't look like you have a concussion. Are you going to be alright?" She sat on her knees looking at Link with worry in her eyes. Link was staring at her like she was a six armed alien or something. "Um, my name's Zelda Nohanson. What's yours?"

Zelda. Her name was Zelda. But why was he dreaming about her. He had never met this girl before, he was sure of it. But she had been in his dreams for weeks, helping him just like she was today. And to make things even more confusing, being this close to her made Link feel…good. Like being with an old friend he had known for years. And the back of his left hand was tingling strangely. This was the strangest day of Link's life and it was only eight-thirty AM.

Link was so deep in his reserves that he didn't realize that he was still staring at Zelda. "Um. Hello?"

"Link! Link Masters. My, my name is Link Masters."

"Uh, okay? Well…I have to go to school now." Zelda got off the ground and went to collect the books she dropped when she came to Link's aid.

Link followed her trying (and failing) to make conversation with his dream girl. All he could come up with is, "Uh, am I dreaming?"

Zelda was confused by Link's strange behavior, she started to think that maybe he did have a concussion after all. "No? I don't think you are." Link kept staring at Zelda. From Link's standing point it was understandable, you meet someone who looks exactly like someone you've been dreaming about, it only makes sense that you'd be a little stunned. However, Zelda didn't know about her presence in Link's dreams, so she was just weirded out by the strange new boy she had just met. "Uh…I should be going." And started to walk off.

"Okay. Yeah. I gotta go too. So I'll just…" Link gets his skateboard and starts riding past Zelda it in the opposite direction he was going. After a minute he realized he was going the wrong way and turned around. He passed Zelda again and gave her a small wave. As he rode away from her, Zelda couldn't help but keep looking at Link until he was out of sight. He was kind of weird, but he was cute too. She wondered if she would see him again; probably not.

Link rode his skateboard as fast as possible to his job at Telma's Dinner. He burst through the door, hopped off his board, quickly greeted his boss, Telma, and strode into the kitchen to find his best friend Midna. "Dude! She's totally real!"

Link's outburst surprised the orange-haired Goth so much she dropped the plates she was carrying. "God damn it, Link! Telma's gonna kill me! Wait, who's real?"

"Zelda Nohanson." Link said while stooping to help Midna clean up the food she dropped.

"Who's Zelda Nohanson?"

"The girl from my dreams."

"Aww…" Midna's expression softens by Links words, "'the girl of your dreams.' That's so sweet."

"No, not of my dreams, from my dreams. Remember that weird dream I've been having lately?"

Link and Midna throw the broken plates and food away and Midna looks through the window to the counter, "Fado, tell table 3 there's been a problem with their order. Give 'em as many free refills of coffee as they want and tell them that their bill will be reduced by twenty percent."

"Make that Twenty-five percent, hon." Telma interjected, "We can take the extra expenses out your pay check." Telma gave Midna a "friendly warning" kind of look and went back to taking orders.

Midna put a weak smile on and said, "Yeah, no problem boss." Her smile falls off and glares bloody murder at Link. "You will pay for this. Now what were you babbling about."

"That dream that I was telling you about."

"You mean the one where you fight that Gerudo guy and that girl in the princess outfit shows up?" Midna asks as she goes to the grill to re-prepare the food Link made her drop.

"Yeah I met that girl today."

Midna stares at him for a second, "How is that possible?"

Link walks over to a coat rack, takes an apron from it and puts it on. "I don't know. I was on my board, rode past her, and there she was; the spitting image of the girl from my dream." He took off his green hoody and joined Midna at the grill. "I was so caught off guard I fell off my board and practically went mute. She probably thinks I'm mentally challenged or something."

"Can you get the fryers?" Midna directs Link to the deep fryers to make the French fries that will go with the BLT and steak and cheese sandwich that she's making. "Y'know, sounds like you're really into this girl. She pretty?"

Link stiffened at Midna's comment. "Uh, well she is kinda cute. But I wouldn't say that I'm into her. I mean I saw her in a dream weeks before I actually met her. I'm sorry if I sound a little fixated, but come on how often does something like that happen?"

"Right I'm sure you're not even thinking about Zoë."

"It's Zelda." He corrects Midna as he empties the cooked fries onto two plates; a clear tone of annoyance for mispronouncing Zelda's name in his voice.

Midna chuckled at Link's tone, "Yeah you're not interested at all." She finished the sandwiches she was working on and prepared the plates for table 3. She places them in the window to the counter and rang the bell to alert Fado that the order was ready. She picked up another order and read it out loud, "Grilled chicken sandwich, no mayo, on wheat bread. Six piece buffalo wigs. And deep fried onion rings. Got that Link?"

"No problem." Link went to work preparing the next order as soon as Midna was done reading it.

As he worked, Midna could tell that this Zelda girl was still on Link's mind. "Link, look. I don't think you should give this dream chick to much thought. You don't know where she lives or how to find her. The chances of you meeting her again are a million to one. Maybe you should just forget about her."

Link thought about Midna's advice for a minute. Finally he sighed and looked at her, "Yeah, maybe you're right. There's no point in getting obsessed with a girl I'll probably never see again. I guess I should forget her." Midna nodded and the two of them got back to work.

During the lunch rush Link delivers the food to the tables as well as helping prepare it. He sometimes uses his skateboard to quickly get around the dinner, that and it keeps he job from getting too boring. After delivering another meal, Link was rolling back to the kitchen when he accidentally bashes into a costumer. The both of them crash to the ground and Telma yells out to Link, "Link! You okay there sugah?"

Link worked out the shoulder he landed on and called back to her, "Yeah, Telma, I'm fine."

"Link?" The girl's soft voice called the young skate rat's name and he whirled around to see a face he had been visualizing all day.

"Zelda. You…I can't believe…I gotta go for a minute. I'll be right back." And Link scurried back into the kitchen. He walked up to Midna again and said, "Dude! She's totally here!" Just like before Midna was thrown off balance because of Link's outburst, but he managed to catch the plates before they fell.

Link placed the plates in the window and rang the bell then turned his attention back to Midna, who was pissed off. "Would you stop doing that?"

"I'm sorry, but she's here."

"Whose here?"

"Zelda!"

Midna was stunned. The girl Link dreamed up shows up at his job. What kind of Twilight Zone insanity is this? "I have to take a look at this chick."

Midna strode towards the door to the front, but Link steps in front of her, "Wait, you can't go out there. Zelda already thinks I'm a klutz, if I start parading her in front of my friends she might think I some kinda creep."

Midna looks at Link for a second, "You really do have a thing for her don't you?" Link just glares at her before walking out the kitchen. Link sees Zelda sitting at the counter; he walks past Telma and Fado to get to her. "Hey Zelda, what are you doing here?"

"Well I had a job interview in the area, and I got kinda hungry so I just decided to see what this place was like. I can't believe you work here."

"Yeah I know. How weird is it that we run into each other twice in the same day." Link felt the same feeling of familiarity that he sensed when he met Zelda the first time and the back of his hand began to tingle again. How can you feel so nervous and so at ease around someone you just met? Link heard Telma forcefully clearing her throat down the counter and giving him a wicked look. Link knew that look basically meant "Stop flirting and get back to work or I'll fire your butt." So he turned back to Zelda and asked, "So, uh…is there something I can get you?"

Zelda giggled knowing that Link might be in trouble with his boss. She grabs a menu and looks it over as Link readies a pen and pad to take her order. After about a minuet she addressed Link again, "Do you still serve breakfast after noon?" Link nods his head, "Then I'll have a short stack with a side of eggs and a cup of iced tea."

"Alright then. Midna!" Link places the order slip were Midna can find it to make the order.

Midna calls from the kitchen, "Your gonna have to help me with some of these orders Link." With a smile, Link excuses himself to make Zelda's meal.

About five minutes later Link walks the plate of food out to the young woman he felt a strange connection to. "Here you go Zelda." Link places a medium sized plate in front of her with a stack of three pancakes topped with vanilla ice cream and scrambled eggs sitting next to it. Link also handed Zelda a small syrup pitcher for her pancakes and a cup with her tea.

Zelda poured the syrup over the pancakes then used her fork to cut out a section and take a bite. Her face lights up as she chews the pieces, "This is really good. Did you make this?"

"Uh yeah, I did." Link blushes slightly because of Zelda's praise of his skill in the kitchen. "I actually learned to cook from my grandma. I'm just working here to help pay for college."

"Really, where do you go?" Zelda asks in between bites, careful not to talk with her mouth full.

"Lanayru University, I'm an Art major."

"I go to Lanayru too, as a History major. I just transferred there about two or three weeks ago." About the same time that Link's dreams started. This is just one coincidence too many for Link's taste.

Zelda coming into his life had to mean something, he just didn't know what. It had to have something to do with his dream, but did that mean that they were gonna have some epic battle against a Gerudo guy. That's impossible isn't it? The Gerudo are all women. There isn't a guy among them. Nothing about this made sense to Link. He had to find out more about Zelda. "So, Zelda…"

"Hey! Can you help me back here, please!" Midna yelled from the kitchen.

Link glared angrily at her then turned back to Zelda. She looked at him, "Back to work then, huh?" Link gave her a slight shrug. "Well then…" She pulls a piece of paper and a pencil out of her purse and started writing, "This is my cell number. Give me a call sometime." She handed him the paper.

Link looks down at the paper and smiles, "Wow, girl number. Alright, I'll call you." Link walked back to the kitchen without taking his eyes off Zelda. He bumped into Fado and tripped over his skateboard before stumbling into the kitchen. Zelda smiled at Link's retreat. He really was kind of strange, but there was something about him she couldn't put her finger on. Something that drew her to him. She had ever just given a guy her number like that, but for some reason she really wanted to see Link again.

As Zelda went back to her meal, Link was showing her number to Midna, "I don't know what's more surprising, that you got a girl's phone number or that she's as cute as Zelda."

"You're hilarious y'know that?" Link stuffed the number into his back pocket and got back to work. But as he does, Link notices a faint outline of a triangle on the back of his left hand.

Zelda finished her meal shortly after Link left. She got up to pay the diner owner and caught a glimpse of Link through the window connecting the front and the kitchen. She waved at him and he waved back. Telma noticed this and gave Zelda a knowing look; then said to her, "Y'know, Link is a fine young man. I'm sure any girl lucky enough to spend some time with him would be pretty happy. What do you think sugah?" And gave her a wink to emphasize her point.

Zelda wasn't sure how to react to Telma's question. "Uh…well…I mean…uh, I, I have to go. Bye." And with that she left the diner as quickly as she could.

Telma just laughed to herself, "That girl is totally head-over-heels for that boy."

Zelda returned to her dorm room around seven, exhausted and at the same time exhilarated. She flops on her bed and startles her roommate who had failed to notice her entrance. "Oh, god Zel. Has anyone told you that you could be a ninja or something?"

Zelda sat on the edge of her bed to address her friend, "Sorry Malon. I'm just kind of tired, and excited, and a little confused."

Malon sat on Zelda's bed next her, "Okay, well tell me what happened. First start with the interview. Did you get the job?"

"Yeah I did. You're looking at the new clerk at 'Sky Temple Books'. The owner, this guy named Shad, said that I knew more about Hyrulian history than anyone he's met."

"That's great Zel!" Malon gives Zelda a big hug before continuing, "but I have to point out that's probably one of the geekiest things I've heard someone say." Zelda playfully slaps Malon on the arm and she pretends it hurt. The two girls laugh until Malon gets them back on track. "Okay, okay. Now what else happened today?"

Zelda was a little embarrassed by what happened with Link, but if she and Malon were going to be friends like she hoped they'd be, then she should talk about boys and stuff like that. "Uh, well I kind of met this guy today…"

"Really? Well tell me all about him! Is he cute? Does he have a car? Does he have a friend with an even better car?" Malon became very excited by the notion of Zelda finding someone, and Zelda could also see that she was a little shallow.

"Well his name is Link Masters, he is kind of cute, I don't think he has a car, he works at a diner on Spring Water, and the only friends that I know he has are a girl and this guy who wasn't all that good looking." Zelda counted off all the information on Link that she could think of, but left out his odd behavior.

Malon thought about what Zelda had told her about the boy she met, "So, he works at a diner and he doesn't have a car?" Zelda nodded, "What a prize." She got up and walked over to her own bed and stretched out.

Zelda suddenly became very defensive of Link, "Well he is very nice and easy to talk to. Even if he is a bit unusual." She immediately regreted her choose of words.

"Unusual? Like how?" Malon's interest was renewed by this new bit of information. Zelda mentally cursed herself for letting that slip. But what's done is done. So she began to tell her roommate about how she and her would be boyfriend met. After the whole recounting, Malon retaliated with, "I think he's a freak. You should change your number before he calls you."

"Malon, I'm not going to do something like that. Besides, he's not that bad. I mean, he didn't seem as strange in the diner." Zelda thought about Link for a minute. "Although, it is a little weird that I gave him my number. He's one of those skater boy type of guys I'm not usually into. But something about him just called to me. Like…I don't know, like I was meant to meet him."

Zelda returned from her deep thought to see Malon looking at her with a big cheesy grin on her face, "Aww that is so cute. Love at first sight, I always wanted something like that to happen to me." Zelda chuckles softly at Malon's comment. But then something catches Malon's eye, "Hey, I didn't know you had a tattoo. I wonder why I never noticed it before."

"What are you talking about I don't…" Zelda trails off as she looks at the back of her right hand, and she sees it: a gold triangle shape. Zelda wasn't sure what was going on. She never even thought about getting a tattoo. But then were did this come from?

Unknown to Zelda and Malon, their dorm room has been bugged. Just outside of their window a young man swaying back and forth with a slightly deranged smile listens to Zelda trying to take Malon's attention off the mysterious tattoo on her hand. After hearing what he felt was enough, he pulls out a cellphone to make a call, "Zant? It's Sakon. Sounds like the girl developed the mark. She's the one Lord Ganondorf has been looking for. How are things on your end?"

Zant, a man around the same age as Link with a skull cap and various tattoos, sits in a car across the street from Telma's spying on the skater. "I can't tell if he's the one. I wish the mark was somewhere easier to spot. I mean, on the back of the hand, what kind of shit is that?"

"Well that's where Lord Ganondorf said the mark would appear. So that's where we have to look." Sakon began to walk away from Zelda and Malon's dorm as he spoke to Zant.

"Fine." Zant knew that Ganondorf had his reasons for giving him and Sakon their orders and he shouldn't question him. Ganon had always made the right decisions that made everyone who worked for him a lot of money. "Still, this seems pretty out there, even for Ganon. I mean, why exactly are we following this girl around? And what's up with this pretty boy skater guy all of a sudden?"

While Zant was speaking Sakon started staring at a nearby lamp post that just switched on in anticipation for night, "Yeah, I don't know. The girl is really pretty too. Pretty. Hey do you thing Lord Ganondorf will let me keep her?"

"You know our orders Sakon. Once we're sure that the girl has the mark, she dies, end of story."

"Oh, right." Sakon began to pout at the thought of losing the "Pretty girl".

Link's shift at Telma's ends at seven-thirty most nights, to cover up the strange symbol on the back of his hand, which is slowly becoming more and more clear, he put on a pair of fingerless gloves he sometimes wears. He and Midna exit the diner, Midna still giving him a hard time about him somehow screwing things up with Zelda. Zant starts up his car to follow Link and find out if he really does have the mark like the girl. "Sakon, blonde's on the move. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, later Zant." Sakon hung up and stuffed his phone in his pocket. "Oh, the pretty, pretty girl." Sakon began skipping along the sidewalk, with Zelda still in his warped little mind.


	2. Targeted

Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend

Chapter two: Targeted

Link made it back to his apartment around eight to see Kafei sitting on the couch alone. "Anju leave?"

"Yeah, couple hours ago. Apparently there's some big convention or something at the hotel and she had to help out. Looks like it's just gonna be you and me in bed together tonight."

"Dude."

"Right, sorry." Kafei turns off the off T.V. and gets up to go to the kitchen. "So how was work?"

Link walked over and sat down at the counter dividing the kitchen and the living room, "It was alright, I guess. But, something kinda strange happened." He looked down at his gloved left hand, almost as if he was able to see the odd triangle shape hidden beneath it.

"Yeah, I know that girl from your dreams showing up? Dude that is some weird crap." Kafei said as he got a soda bottle off of the fridge.

The thought of Zelda brought a small smile to Link's face, "Yeah, but there's something el-How do you know about that? "

"Midna texted me. Did you really fall off your board when you first saw her?"

Link rubbed his eyes and groaned in frustration with his other best friend, 'Note to self: Murder Midna and dispose of the body.' "Okay, do you know if she told anyone else?" Kafei looked at him for a second then both answered at the same time, "Yeah, she did." Link buries his face in his hands and lets out another groan.

Kafei sits down next to his roommate and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, come on man. At least it isn't like the time in eighth grade when Aryll told everyone you pissed the bed."

"Yeah that was a bad couple of weeks."

"Eh, you got over it. And like I said this isn't nearly as bad." He takes a sip of soda before remembering, "Oh yeah, you said something else was bothering you. What's up?"

"Well, uh…" Link looked down at his left hand again and thought about the symbol on it. He wasn't sure what it was or where it came from but it was defiantly too weird even for Kafei to help with. "Y'know what, never mind. What do think I should do about this girl?"

"Well tell me about her. What's her name?"

"Zelda Nohanson. She goes to LU like me. Oh, and she gave me her number." Link reaches in his back pocket and pulls out the paper with Zelda's number on it. "So should I call her?"

"Yes, but not until tomorrow."

"Okay, why?"

"Because you don't want to seem desperate. Trust me; girls don't like it when you come on too strong. How do you think I got someone as awesome as Anju?"

"You stalked her for a week before I introduced you?"

Kafei stared at Link for about a minute unsure what to say as a comeback, finally he said, "See, I know what I'm talking about." Link gave Kafei an incredulous look, certain that Kafei was probably the last person who should give him advice on how to get a girl. "Look, just trust me okay? Calling Zelda tomorrow is defiantly the right thing to do." Kafei got up and went back over to the T.V.

Link thought about what Kafei had said. He wanted to talk to Zelda again, but maybe calling the same day she gave him her number would make him seem too eager, it might ever scare her off. "Y'know what Kafei," Kafei looked over to Link, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you have a point. Calling Zelda would probably be a mistake."

"Yes, exactly," Kafei said, feeling proud of himself, "You know the sooner you realize I'm a freakin' genius the happier we'll all be."

"Yeah, right, I'll get right on that." Link rolled his eyes at Kafei's arrogance before going into their bed room and collapsing on the bed. He took out Zelda's number again and smiled. Nothing that had happened today made sense, Link knew that. But at the moment he didn't care. He just knew he had to get closer to Zelda. It just felt right, it made sense; or about as much sense as anything that happened in the last twelve hours did.

Link repeatedly went over in his head what he would say to Zelda when he called her tomorrow. After failing to come up with anything half way competent, Link decided to just sleep on it. He took off his hoody and jeans and slipped underneath the covers. He stayed awake for a few minutes thinking, not of Zelda for once, but about the strange mark on his hand. Link looked at his left hand; without the glove that was covering it before he could see that the mark had apparently been formed completely. Where before it was a basic faintly glowing triangle shape, now it was a golden symbol with three separate triangles forming a larger one. Link also noticed the triangle on the lower right triangle was brighter than the other two. He didn't know what any of this meant, but he couldn't help but think it had something to do with his meeting Zelda. Something was going to happen, he just didn't know what. Finally Link decided to put everything a side. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

XXXXXXX

The strange symbol that appeared on the back of Zelda's hand was troubling, how could she have gotten a tattoo she didn't remember. It's not like she passed out from drinking, which is usually how things like this happened. She didn't know where the mark came from, but she did remember seeing it before, it is an important symbol she knew that, she just needed to find out exactly what it means, and her new job at Sky Temple books was the perfect place to do that. Fortunately for Zelda, the store was pretty quiet. During the first two hours of her shift there were only ten or eleven people who come to the store, and only about seven of them actually bought anything. So Zelda had plenty of time to read about the symbol on her hand.

After combing through several books, Zelda found what she was looking for. A book called "The Forgotten History of Hyrule" featured an engraving of the very symbol that adorned her hand. She read through the book as carefully as possible, not wanting to gloss over or skip anything.

After going through many Hyrulian legends, some she was familiar with, some she wasn't, she found it, "The Triforce." Zelda instantly remembered her grandmother telling her stories about the Triforce and the battles that were fought over it. "Right, like grandmother used to talk about. Mom and dad always told me that they were just stories. I was so young when grandmother died. I must have forgotten what she told me." she looked at her right hand, now covered by an elegant white glove, "So I guess they weren't just stories."

Zelda continued to read the book, fascinated by the recovered information, "When the evil King of Thieves invaded the Sacred Realm of the Triforce he sought only the Power that the ancient relic would give him. Because of this, the Triforce was spilt into three separate parts. The Evil King kept the Triforce of Power, the top piece. But the Triforce of Wisdom, the lower left piece, was given to the Princess of Destiny, the crowed princess of Hyrule. And the Triforce of Courage, the lower right piece, was given to a boy from an ancient forest that would soon grow into the Great Hero of legend." Zelda lifted up her right glove to inspect her mark. See could see that the lower-left triangle was brighter than the other two. "So, this must be the Triforce of Wisdom." She said to herself, possibly trying to wrap her mind around what seemed to be happening.

Everything Zelda was reading reminded her of her childhood because of her grandmother's stories; but they also seemed familiar in another way. Almost as if she had lived all this before. "After the Great Hero's victory over the Evil King, Hyrule was restored to a time of peace. But for as long as he held the Triforce of Power, The Dark Lord could return. And it is said that the Great Hero and the Princess of Destiny would be reborn as well, usually with their respective Triforce piece already in their possession, to challenge him should he try to reclaim Hyrule for his own. Although weather this is true is impossible to determine. It is said that the Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom is always a member of the Hyrulian royal family, but since the monarchy was abolished more than two hundred years ago, it would be next to impossible to find the fabled Princess of Destiny today." Zelda was floored. If it's true that only members of the royal family could inherited the Triforce of Wisdom, then that could only mean that Zelda was a member of the royal family. One of the last of the line.

With an overwhelming urge to know more, Zelda continued reading, particularly about the Triforce of Wisdom. "The bearers of the Triforce were said to be given special abilities. For instance, The Princess of Destiny, the chosen wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom, was said to exhibit certain psychic and/or magical abilities. Although weather this was because of the Triforce or the Princess' natural abilities, is also unknown. And it is possible that the Triforce merely enhanced the Princess's supposed magical powers."

"Ah, reading up on the Triforce, eh?" The heavy accent of Zelda's new boss, Shad, pulls her out of her reserves and she turns around to look at him standing across the counter where Zelda was reading. "One of my favorite legends personally." Shad walks around the counter to get a better look at what Zelda is reading.

Zelda closed the book and answered Shad. "Yeah, I actually remember my grandmother telling me stories about the Triforce when I was younger, but I didn't really know much about it."

Shad slumped against the counter and let out an over dramatized sigh, "I know. It's so sad people lose sight of their heritage, isn't it?" Zelda giggles at Shad overacting. "Seriously though," Shad returned to his usual proper demeanor, "It really is quite disappointing when so many people don't know anything about something as important as the Triforce. Our land's most sacred relic. Ah well. Just it just a sign of the times, I guess."

Zelda looked at Shad as he went about his business in the store. He was probably only a few years older than her but he talked, acted, even dressed like someone much older and wiser. Before Zelda could muse about her boss any further, her phone went off. "Hello?" No one answered immediately, "Um, hello? Is anyone there?"

Finally, Zelda hear someone, "Uh, y-yeah. It's…uh, Link. Remember me. Link Masters, from…from the dinner?"

Zelda's face lit up upon remembering Link. "Oh, yeah I remember. How are you Link?"

"I'm fine. I just…y'know…wanted to call and see how you were doing." Link paced back and forth outside of Telma's doing his best to seem at least a little interesting.

"I'm fine too." Zelda replied simply, "I just started my new job today."

"Oh really, where?"

"Sky Temple books on 52nd."

"Hey, that's great…I've never been there before."

"That's okay, maybe you can come by sometime to check it out."

"Yeah, yeah maybe. Uh, Zelda…?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh…well…I was thinking…uh…you know the Carnival of Light?"

"I know of it."

"Well, it's tonight, and I was just thinking that it might be fun to go. I mean, I haven't been since I was a kid. And then I was thinking, 'You know who else might like to go? Zelda.' So, I was wondering ?"

Link said that last thing so fast that Zelda couldn't understand him, "Uh, excuse me?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the carnival with me." Link repeated himself in a much slower, calmer, tone of voice.

"Oh! Uh, okay I'd love go out with you Link."

"Okay, okay great! I get off work today at around five; maybe I can pick you up. Except I don't have a car. So maybe we can just meet there? When do you clock out?"

"Seven actually. And I don't think its okay to ask to get off early on my first day to go on a date."

"Ah, what, are you kiddin'? Your young, go out and trip the light fantastic as they say. Just be here bright and early tomorrow." Shad gives Zelda a bright, inviting smile.

Zelda smiles back before returning to her conversation with Link, "Actually, I am going to be able to make it. I'll see you at five."

"Great, I'll see you then." Link said before hanging up the phone. As he celebrated outside Telma's, getting strange looks from passers-by, Zelda just smiled as she hung up. It was 3:40 at the time, so there was about an hour and a half before she had to leave and meet with Link. At first she was going to keep researching the Triforce of Wisdom, which she apparently owned, but wanted to just focus on her date with Link for the rest of her shift. Zelda worked at the store until around 4:30. She wanted to go back to her dorm and change into something cuter than what she was currently wearing. Shad let her go with his best wishes. Zelda still couldn't believe how nice her new boss was.

At her dorm, Malon was reading a book she needed to write a psychological analysis of the protagonists for. When Zelda walked in she asked her in a very whining voice, "Why did I take Psychology again?"

"A guy you had a thing for took it?" Zelda answered off handedly.

"Oh, yeah. Right. And he had a girlfriend to." Zelda went right to her closet and began searching through it. Malon then realizes that Zelda was home way too early, "Hey didn't you say you weren't going to get home until, like, seven or something?"

Zelda kept her head in the closet as she answered, only occasionally pulling out to see how a particular piece of clothing looked, "I was supposed to, but then that guy I told about last night, Link, he called me and asked me out on a date. My boss actually said that I could leave and go on the date. Isn't that unbelievable?" Zelda pulls out a blue blouse with gold designs along the bottom and holds it up to her body. She turns to Malon, "What do you think?"

Malon thinks about it for a second, "It looks good." Zelda smiles and places the blouse on her bed. She returned to the closet to complete her outfit. "So where's he taking you?" Malon asked out of curiosity.

"The Carnival of Light" She said rummaging though her clothing options, "I haven't been to the carnival in years, isn't it sweet that's where he takes me for our first date?"

"I guess, I still think he's kind of a freak."

"You've never even met him. He is sweet. I'm glad he asked me out." Malon just shrugged her shoulders and continued reading, even though she really didn't want to. After cycling through a few options, Malon comes over and looks through the closet herself. She reaches in and pulls out a white mini-skirt with a black trim, "Here, this should go great with the blouse."

"Thanks Malon." Zelda changed intro her newly assembled outfit and slipped on a pair of open toed flats. She turned to Malon again and asked, "Okay, how do I look?"

"Like you're too good for him. Seriously I'll bet you anything he still lives with his parents."

Zelda rolled her eyes at Malon's comment before adding a few touch ups to her make-up. She headed for the door when she was done, saying to her roommate, "I'm off. I probably won't be back until late. Wish me luck."

"Good luck. And don't do anything I wouldn't do." Zelda smiled and waved goodbye to Malon as she exited the dorm room.

XXXXXXXX

By the time Link and Zelda arrived at the fairgrounds, the Carnival of Light was in full swing. Children of all ages laughing and playing, enjoying both the rides and the many games available. Link and Zelda marveled at all that there was to do at the Carnival. Sure they had both been to the Carnival plenty of times when they were younger, but some things can still get to you even as an adult. Link and Zelda begin dragging each other around the various booths that provide some form of entertainment; they played Whack-a-mole, ring toss, the shooting gallery, Bomb-chu bowling, went on the roller-coaster, bumper cars, Link even managed to ring the bell on the test your strength game. All in all it was great afternoon, although Zelda did get offended when the "Guess your weight" guy claimed that she was ten pounds heavier than she actually was.

As they enjoyed themselves, they also talked about their lives up this point. Link mentioned his grandmother and sister, his best friends Kafei and Midna, and his time at Lanayru. Zelda countered by telling Link about her father and twin sister Tetra, Her childhood friend Ruto and her new dorm mate Malon, and her studies into Hyrulian history. Although she could tell the history lesson was quickly boring Link to tears. After talking for almost two hours, Link and Zelda felt like old friends just hanging out.

As the sun set on their first date, Link and Zelda decided to take the Farris wheel so they could see all of Castle Town. Zelda gazed at the landscape painted an awe-inspiring golden hue, "This is such a beautiful view."

"Yeah, it is." Link replied but looking at Zelda instead of the setting sun. Zelda looks over at Link and they lock eyes. Their hands drift closer to each other until they finally touch. Their Triforce marks flash quickly and then fade, but neither of them notices. They take one last look at the sun before it dips behind one of the taller buildings in Castle Town.

While the Farris wheel starts back up and brings Link and Zelda down to Earth, Zant impatiently watches them, becoming physically sick by the tender display that just unfolded. He was tired of waiting and watching, it was time to take action. "Ganon want's the girl? I'll get him the girl." Link and Zelda walked hand in hand away from the Ferris wheel, with Zelda also carrying one of the prizes they had won. Zelda took a look around before asking Link something, "Do you know what this carnival is for?"

"Uh, light?"

Zelda giggled at Link's answer, she wasn't surprised by it though. Most people had forgotten about the oldest legends of Hyrule. "No. Actually, it's to celebrate someone. A great hero who saved Hyrule from a terrible evil. Darkness threated to cover all of Hyrule, but the Great Hero brought the light back to the land. After the Dark Lord was defeated, the people of Hyrule began having this Carnival. To commemorate the victory of light over darkness."

"Wow. I didn't know that."

"Not too many people do."

"Well then I guess there's a reason you went to school for history, huh?" They walked around for a while, just observing everyone having a good time, until Link spotted an ice cream stand, "Hey, Zelda, Want some ice cream?"

She nodded, "Yes I do." He smiled at her and walked off. Zelda walked over to a nearby booth and leaned against it to wait for Link. She looked at the small Deku doll that Link had won for her and felt good with how things were going with him.

Zelda was so deep in thought she failed to notice Zant coming up behind her until it was too late. Zant grabbed Zelda and put his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. "Hello there princess. You know you're even cuter up close." Zant whispered in Zelda's ear with a low gruff voice as he pulled out a knife and pressed it against her back. Zelda quickly began to panic, not sure who this person was or what he wanted, but she couldn't help but expect the worst. "Come with me, slowly now. Don't want to attract any attention now do we?" Zant began to lead Zelda in to the shadows of the carnival tents. She knew that if she allowed herself to be taken into the back of the carnival, where no one would be able to see them, Zelda would never be seen again.

She tried to think of a way out of this, any way. But nothing came to her. Finally, maybe out of seer desperation, Zelda thought, 'Link, please help me. I'm being taken away. Please find me.' The Triforce mark on her hand began to glow again.

While Link was standing in the line for ice cream, he suddenly heard Zelda's voice crying out for help. He quickly turned around to see if she was in sight but couldn't find her. He left the line and began scouring the area where he last she his date; frantically calling her name. It wasn't until he saw the Deku plushy he had won earlier lying on the ground did he think to check behind the tents. Luckily, Link came just in time to see Zant walking Zelda to his car with his hand still on her mouth. Link quietly snuck up behind them and tackled Zant to the ground. As the two of them when down Zant accidentally cut a small part of Zelda's back. Link pinned the strange young man who had tried to kidnap Zelda and punched him square in the jaw, presumably knocking him out.

Link rose to his feet, grabbed Zelda and ran as fast as they could away from Zelda's assailant. They ran back into the crowd and started making their way to the exit of the carnival. "Zelda, you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. That was amazing Link."

"I know right, I guess all those hours watching ninja movies weren't a waste after all." They didn't get too far before Zant appeared in front of them literally out of nowhere. "Holy crap! How'd he do that?"

Zant just sneered at them, Link in particular, "You think you can just sneak attack me and get away with it?" Zelda noticed that Zant's voice had gone up an octave or two. It must have been because he was upset. Zant pulls his knife again, "I'm gonna carve you into little individual skate rat slices."

Never taking his eyes off Zant, Link stands between him and Zelda. Link tells her, "Zelda, get somewhere safe. I'll hold him off."

"But…"

Zelda tries to argue, but Link cuts her off, "Just go." Zelda hesitates for a second, but finally she relents and runs into the crowd that had formed around them. Link clutched his fists and his Triforce mark began to glow again. But neither man noticed; each too focused on the other. Link determined to keep Zelda safe, and Zant determined to pay Link back for ambushing him.

Zant made the first move, lunging at Link with his knife. Link instinctively knocked the arm holding the knife away and hit Zant with a vicious right hook. As Zant tried to regain his composure, Link assumed a boxing stance and readied himself for Zant's next attack. Zant made several more attempts to cut Link, all of them either being deflected, dodged, or countered with a punch. All the while Zant was slowly becoming more manic, and his movements more erratic. Zant was tiring but refused to give up, so Link decided to end the fight as soon as possible. After Zant took another swipe at Link, Link side stepped him and managed to get behind him. Zant tried to swing his knife around but Link caught his arm with his right hand and twisted it to make him drop the knife, then unleashed a powerful punch with his left knocking Zant to the ground and breaking his nose. Link picked up the knife and threw it away so Zant couldn't get to it again.

Blood was gushing from Zant's nose, but he managed to re-set it, Link could actually hear the bone snap. Zant looked at Link with absolute hatred in his eyes. "You think this is over?" Zant's voice, where before it was low and filled with bass, was now high-pitched and screechy. "Well it's not. It's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not! IT'S NOT!" Zant began to freak out pounding his hands and head into the ground in frustration and rage. Finally he rose to his feet and summoned two swords out of nowhere.

Link and the large crowd that had gathered to witness the battle was visible shocked by it. "Are those swords! Where'd you get swords?"

"Imonna kill you and that bitch! You hear me!" Zant charges at Link Screaming his head off. Zant starts slashing at Link wildly, barely giving him enough time to react as he was able to during the first half of their fight. Link was able to dodge some of Zant's attacks but still got a few cuts here and there from Zant's blades.

Zelda watched in horror as Link fought both for his life and for hers. She wanted desperately to do something to help Link, so she left the battle to find Link some kind of weapon he could use to defend himself. But she couldn't find anything that would make an effective weapon, at least not against a sword-wielding lunatic. Just when Zelda was about to give up hope, she place her hand on the hammer for the test you strength game. She had already ruled the hammer itself out of the running for an approprate weapon because it was made of wood and would have been sliced to pieces if Link tried to block Zant's blades. However, her Triforce mark began to glow and the hammer changed into a broadsword. Zelda was stunned. She picked up the sword and examined it. It was a real sword. Somehow she had transformed the hammer into a sword. "How…" Then she remembered what she had read earlier about the Triforce of Wisdom, 'The Princess of Destiny, the chosen wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom, was said to exhibit certain psychic and/or magical abilities.' She then looked at her right hand as her Triforce mark faded. "Did you do this?"

Just then Zelda hear Link cry out in pain, Zant had got another hit in. Zelda re-focused, deciding to leave how she changed the hammer for later. All that matter right now was that Link gets this sword. "I just hope he isn't hurt too badly."

Fortunately for Link he had managed to avoid any severe wounds from Zant's onslaught; although that last attack did cut pretty deep. Zant was panting hard with a psychotic grin on his face. All he had to do is kill Link and Zelda was his. He even wondered if Lord Ganondorf would allow Zant to rape her a few times before killing her. He might even let Sakon have swing at her since he was obsessed with her. "Any last words, dick head?"

Link had nothing to say; he couldn't fight back, he was going to die and Zelda would probably be next. Then he hears Zelda yell out his name. "Link! Here take this!" And she throws a sword towards him. The sword lands blade first in the ground less than a foot away from Link. Zant, not wanting things in this fight to be even, or worse, for Link to get the upper hand, rushes Link determined to end him before he can get his hands on that sword. But Link rolls out of the way and grabs the sword.

He holds it in a defensive stance since he didn't have a shield to protect him. Zant rushes Link again and the two begin a furious sword duel. Though wounded, Link has a much easier time dodging and deflecting Zant's sword attack now that he has a sword of his own. Link was even able to see a few openings in Zant's attack pattern and strike him. After cutting his leg, Link attempted another strike but Zant teleported out of the way. "Link lookout!" Zelda yelled out warning Link of Zant appearing behind him and spinning at a fast speed coming at him. Link blocked the attack but it knocked him to the ground. Zant disappeared again only to appear above Link and try to stab his sword into Link's head. He rolls out of the way and tries to slash Zant again but teleports away. This goes on for some time with Zant appearing to attack Link only to disappear before he can counter. Fed up, Link waits for Zant to try and use his spinning attack again which Link was able to counter with his own. The menuvere works and Zant is stunned long enough for Link to grab a hold of him. He head butts Zant and then punches him with his sword hand, making sure the guard hits him as well, and Zant falls to the ground unconscious. The police arrive just as the fight ends and disperse the crowd who all start cheering for Link.

It wasn't until after Zant had been beaten did Link see the Triforce on his hand glowing, which disappeared when he started to calm down. That's also when he realized he had no idea how he did all that. Yeah he had taken fencing and boxing in high school, but he was nowhere near the level he just displayed. Then he thought "Was it because of that weird triangle mark that I could fight like that?"

"Link!" Zelda runs up to Link and hugs him. "Oh, thank Nayru your alive. I was so worried."

"Yeah, so was I." He wrapped his arms around Zelda but winced when she applied pressure to one of his wounds.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's okay." Link and Zelda both look down at Zant's defeated form. "Alright what going on here? Who is that guy? Why was he after you?" He holds up the sword, "And where the hell did this come from?"

Zelda thought about it for a second. She was sure this person was after her because of the Triforce that resided in her. She just wasn't sure how he found out about it or how to tell Link. The first date isn't exactly the best time to tell someone you're the latest member of a royal bloodline and have magic powers. "I don't know who he is. But I think I know why he was after me. You see…"

"Hey, you two!" a policeman interrupted Zelda and made a hand gesture to have them come over to him. As they walked over, Link limping slightly, other officers ran over and put hand-cuffs on the unconscious Zant. When they came up to the officer that called them he greeted Link in a friendly manner, "Well it's good to see you again Link. Although I didn't think it would be under these kinds of circumstances." The tall blonde mustached man placed a hand on Link's shoulder, making him wince again.

Zelda was slightly confused by the policeman's friendly tone. "Uh, so…you know each other?"

"Rusl's a friend of the family. My grandma use to babysit his son along with my little sister Aryll."

"Remind me to ask how Aryll and your grandmother are doing after this is over." Link nodded. "Now why don't you two tell me what exactly happened here tonight." Link and Zelda explained everything that happened. How Zant, whose name they just found out from Rusl, tried to kidnap Zelda, Link saving her and his fight with Zant. Zelda left out the part about her turning a hammer into a sword, claiming instead that she just found it near one of the booths. "Well, that's some story. Link may I see that sword for a minute?" Link hands it to him without a word. Rusl examines the blade, the guard, the hilt, before facing Link again. "This is a fine blade Link. I'd like to keep it for evidence; that's alright I trust?"

"Yeah of course." Link said before holding his side which had begun to bleed more.

Rusl gets a concerned look on his face. "We should get you to the hospital and get your wounds checked out." Rusl turns to Zelda next, "Are you at all hurt Miss Nohanson?"

Zelda reached around to a spot on her back where she had been feeling some discomfort, but ignored it because of the situation, and found that she was also bleeding. Although not as much as Link. "I think Zant must have cut me when he tried to kidnap me."

"Alright then I'll take you both." He led Link and Zelda to his squad car and drove them to the Nayru's Love General Hospital.

Unknown to them, two dark figures were watching everything that had happened tonight. "Zant has failed us dear sister."

"He was an impatient fool, sister. I doubt Lord Ganondorf will miss him."

"Yes, but the boy who defeated him; he could prove to be an obstacle."

"Did you see, sister? The boy had the mark of the Triforce like the girl."

"It would appear that Wisdom and Courage have found each other yet again."

"Yes, it appears they have. Come Kotake, Lord Ganondorf with surly want to know of this development."

"Yes Koume, the return of his most hated enemy will most defiantly peak his interest." The two witches take flight into the night, cackling evilly.

XXXXXXX

Rusl got Link and Zelda to the hospital as soon as possible and got them treated. Zelda's wound was simple enough to treat since it didn't go too deep; just some anti-bacterial spray and a bandage was all that was needed. Link on the other hand required a number of stitches to close the cut on his side and several bandages to cover the more superficial wounds.

Zelda went to see Link after the doctor said it was okay for her to do so. She walked in on Link and Rusl talking about their shared past. "I still can't figure out what you two were thinking." Rusl said with a hearty laugh.

"Hey Kafei had the masks and we thought it'd be funny. How were we supposed to know Ilia had a bat?" Link was sitting up on the hospital bed with his shirt off. Zelda could see all the bandages on Link's torso, especially the binding across his abdomen to cover his stitches. Then he notices her, "Hey Zelda. Come on in. Me and Russ are just catching up."

Zelda enters the room proper as Rusl starts to stand, "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Russ?" He hands Link the black t-shirt lying on the bed and walks towards the door, stopping to put his hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Good luck with this one. He's a handful." Then leaves the room.

Link winches as he puts his shirt back on. Zelda takes Rusl's place in the chair next to Link's bed, "Are you alright?" Immediately realizing that was a stupid question. Obviously he's not alright.

Link tries to play it off all the same, "Yeah I'm fine. One crazed, sword-wielding head-case is no big deal."

Zelda smiles, happy that he's trying to down-play the pain he's probably in. It didn't alleviate her concern though. "Link…I think now is the best to tell you this. What I was going to tell you at the carnival before Rusl Showed up." Link readjusted himself in preparation for whatever Zelda was about to share with him. Zelda takes a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know who Zant is. But I think I know why he came after me." She stopped and took off the gloves that she had been wearing all day and showed Link the Triforce mark on the back of her hand. "I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with this mark. It's the mark of the Triforce." Link looked at the mark on her hand in complete and utter shock. It was the same mark that was on his left hand. "I think it this is how I got that sword. When I touched the hammer for the test your strength game it turned in to that sword. I'm sorry Link. You got hurt because someone was after me." Tears started to form in Zelda's eyes as she looked down at the Triforce mark again.

"Zelda…" She looks up at Link whose smiling, "I have something to show you too." He takes off his left glove and show off his own Triforce mark. He places his hand right next to Zelda's to show the similarities between the two symbols.

Zelda gasped in surprise at seeing another Triforce mark. "Link…you have…" Link just nods. Zelda looks at the mark on Link's hand; it was the same as her, except the lower right piece was brightest instead of the lower left like hers. "So, this is the Triforce of Courage." Just then the two Triforce marks begin to glow brilliantly indicating that at least two of the Triforce bearers had found each other.

Just outside of the room, Rusl was witnessing the event happening between the two young people. "Little Link, who would have thought you'd be the one we've been waiting for." Rusl walks away from the door and down the hall as he pulls out his cell phone and hits speed-dial. After a few rings a woman answers. "Telma? It's Rusl. We have to meet. Call the others. I found the Hero and the Princess. And you'll never guess who it is."

XXXXXXXX

It was around ten PM and the newest teacher at Lanayru University was unpacking things in his office in preparation for his first day on the job. Koume and Kotake enter the office through the window and greet the ominous teacher with the utmost respect. "Greetings Lord Ganondorf."

"We trust you are ready for the world of academia?"

Ganon turns to his surrogate mothers and smiles a wicked smile, "Of cause I am." Ganondorf was dressed in a custom tailored suit (That did nothing to hide his muscular and imposing build) with his shoulder length, ordinarily unruly, red hair tied in to a neat ponytail. "Everything is set. I well integrate myself into the girl's life, and when the time is right I will end her. I just need to bide my time." Ganon took a seat at his desk and looked at his ancient mothers.

"Then I'm afraid there is a problem. Zant has moved without your permission and alerted the Princess of a threat to her life." Koume stated, unsure of what Ganondorf's reaction would be.

Ganondorf just chuckled to himself and mused about his underling. "Zant, always so short sighted. Never able to see the whole picture. What happened to him?"

Kotake stepped forward this time, "He was defeated and sent to prison."

Ganondorf contemplated how everything was going so far. His plan was barely in motion and already he had lost one of his best subordinates. "Send someone to the Prison and have them kill Zant. If he was beaten this early in the game, he is of no use to me. It will also serve as a deterrent for anyone else who plans to disobey my orders."

Koume and Kotake cackle and answer in unison, "Yes, Lord Ganondorf." They begin to leave but Koume turns back to Ganondorf, "Oh and I thought we should mention; the Hero and the Princess have found each other."

Ganon spins his chair around, "Yes," He lifts his right hand up to examine the mark of the Triforce of Power glowing, "I know. I had planned to eliminate the Princess before she could be under the protection of the Hero. Without the Triforce of Wisdom to aid him, The Hero would pose no real threat to me. Ah well, as long as they obtain neither the two tools that can mean my end, I suppose I can still destroy them separately." Ganondorf envisioned his glorious upcoming battle with his eternal enemy; beating him unconscious taking the Triforce of Courage from him, and finally ending his life. Only when the Hero was out of the way could Ganondorf take Hyrule for himself, then the world would be his to command. A sadistic giddiness overcame Ganondorf and he began laughing in a boarder-line psychotic way.

Alright, here's the second chapter. Hope everyone liked it. I'd point out some mistakes I might have made but am too lazy to fix, but I'll let you guys figure those out. Any real artist thrives on criticism. Anyway the third chapter of this might not come for a while. Not because of a lack of ideas or anything, god no. The next part of this epic is already forming in my mind. I plan on taking this one as far as I can. The problem is a combination of school being a bitch and taking up all my free time; in fact I have huge pain in the ass assignment to do after uploading this, and a queue of other stories I want to write. But once I'm done with those, I'll come back to Urban Legend; I promise. Alright, that's it. Send me a review, what you liked, what you hated. Like I said, real artists take any feed-back they can get to improve. So be honest. But don't be a dick about it, Yeah? Later!


	3. The Old Guard

The legend of Zelda: Urban legend

Chapter three: The old guard

Telma drove up to the relatively small warehouse in her usual reckless and almost illegal fashion. She was worried she'd be late, and this was one meeting she absolutely didn't want to be late for. She parked her cherry red muscle car and saw no other cars around the quite industrial area. Stepping out, she said to herself, "Huh, looks like I'm the first one here. Guess I rushed for nothing."

"Of course if you didn't rush you wouldn't be you." Rusl rounds the corner and approaches Telma with a cigarette in his mouth, having parked his squad car on the opposite side of the building.

Telma gets a wide grin on her face and brings Rusl into a hug, "Long time no see Rusl. So how's my favorite cop doing?"

They separate and Rusl takes the cigarette out of his mouth, "Nothing much. Uli's still trying to get me to quit these things." He said with a chuckle as he threw the cigarette away. Rusl and Telma walk towards the warehouse the meeting was meant to take place in, "What about you Telma? How's that dinner of yours doing?"

"About the same as ever. And I got to say I am surprised by Link. When you first suggested that I hire him I was sure I'd have to fire him before the week was out. But he actually does good work. Oh and did you hear? He's got his self a little girlfriend." Telma said her last statement in a sing song voice as they entered the warehouse.

"Yeah, I met her." Rusl then went silent, as if contemplating something.

Telma stops him and looks straight into his eyes, all hints of her usual joking personality absent, "Alright Russ, what's going on?" Rusl says nothing, "I know you didn't call this meeting just to see the 'old gang' again. Does this have something to do with Link?" She asked with visible concern in her eyes.

After thinking for a second her turns to Telma and says, "When the others come I'll explain everything. But don't worry. Link's fine for now." Telma nodded, complacent with Rusl's excuse for not telling her what she wanted to know. Although she defiantly caught that "For now" Rusl included, she decided to let it go.

Rusl and Telma walked further into the warehouse that, unlike what one might expect a warehouse to look like, resembled a bar. Telma stood at the counter as Rusl sat down at the one table. Telma picked up one of the liquor bottles and blow the dust off it revealing the label underneath reading "Windfall's chose". Telma smiled as she uncorked the bottle and gave it a twirl without spilling a drop before pouring some of its contents into a shot glass she retrieved while the bottle was still airborne. She took the shot, slammed it on the counter with enough force you'd think either the glass or the counter would break, and exclaimed loudly, "WHOOO, Still got it!"

Rusl chuckled to himself before asking, "So I take it you miss your old bartending days?"

"You mean do I miss slinging hooch to a bunch of low-lives who constantly get into fights forcing me toss their sorry asses out into the cold over owning a respectable dinner where good, wholesome, law-abiding people come with their families?" Rusl just nodded; sure he already knew the answer, "Ya damn right I do!"

Telma began laughing loudly when a wizen, but still strong, voice appeared. "Still as loud as ever I see. There are some things ten years simple will not change." The first two turned their attention to the dark-skinned elderly man who just walked in.

"Well how are you Auru, ya old buzzard?" Telma said bending over the counter.

"Fine, fine. Nothing beats molding the young minds of Hyrule's future." He replies as he sits across from Rusl.

"That's nice," Telma nods and takes out two glasses, "So, is there anything I can get for the esteemed professor and the chief of Police?"

"G 'n T" Rusl Said simply.

"Wine for me," Said Auru, "Good for the heart." Telma nodded and began preparing their drinks. "And what about you Telma, what will the master herself be partaking this morning?"

"What else? Bourbon." Both Telma and Rusl answered Auru's question at the same time; falling back into the pattern they had years ago. Telma served the other two as yet another person entered the make-shift bar. "And the book-worm makes four. Can I get ya a drink Shad honey?"

Shad stood in the doorway for a moment, offended by Telma's offer, "I should say not! You know just as well as everybody else in this room that I do not touch spirits."

Just as Telma was about to roll her eyes, Shad was pushed forward by a young woman with jet black hair and a bored expression on her face. "Oh, sack up already four eyes. I've been drinking since I was eight." No one in attendance had ever seen the feisty girl before, although she did look somewhat familiar.

Shad regained his composure after falling on his face and addressed the others concerning the new girl, "I ran in to this, rather rude, young lady outside. She asked if I was here for the old geezer's meeting and just followed me over to the door."

The others turned to the girl expecting some kind of explanation; with almost no change in her expression or tone of voice she said to them, "I'm Ashei, Archibald's daughter."

Rusl was the first to relax and lean back in his seat. "Ah, so Renado managed to get a message to Archibald. But why send his daughter?"

"My dad has been sick for a while. He wasn't feeling up to coming so he sent me instead because it was, 'So important to come' and crap." Ashei walks over to the table and sits down as she talks, "So we're here because of an evil king or something like that?"

"You can say that," Rusl leaded forward, putting his elbows on the table and interlocking his fingers, "Since everyone's here now I can explain the situation."

"If you've gathered us together after so many years it can only mean the Dark Lord has returned." Auru interjected.

Rusl shook his head, "I don't know if the Dark Lord has in fact returned, but I do know that the Hero and The Princess have been reborn."

Ashei let out an annoyed groan, "Are you people kidding me? That's what this meeting is about? That stupid story my dad used to tell me?"

"Oi, it's not just a story. It's our heritage as Hyrulians." Shad stood up, puffing out his chest with pride for his country's past. Ashei just rolled her eyes.

"Alright you two settle down." Telma said as she finally took her seat at the table. Shad shot Ashei one last dirty look as she started to pick something out of her teeth. Telma brought everyone's attention back to the issue at hand, "So Rusl, do you know who the Hero and Princess are?"

Rusl nodded with a smile on her face, "You won't believe it, but its Link and his new girlfriend, Zelda."

Telma was speechless for a change, and then her lips moved into a huge grin, "Well I'll be damned! Who'd a thought that our little Link would turn out to be the Hero. And I knew that Zelda girl was something special the moment I saw her."

"Huh, that a coincidence." Shad thought out loud, "I just hired a girl named Zelda to work in my book store a couple days ago. What are the odds?"

"I'm pretty sure they're the same person Poindexter." Ashei said in a bored tone of voice.

Shad blushed and got an embarrassed look on his face, "Oh, uh well, we don't know exactly if the Zelda I know is the same one they're talking about. Zelda's a fairly common name now-a-days." He was clearly rationalizing his mistake and Ashei took a little too much pleasure in seeing the little bookish man squirm.

"I think I know how we can be sure if they are the same," Auru stated clearly, he turned to Rusl and Telma, "This young lady you suspect is the Princess; does she have light brown hair and bluish-gray eyes?" Rusl nods, "And this is the same girl you hired, yes Shad?

"Uh, yeah it is."

Rusl looks back at Auru, "So you know her as well?"

"Yes, she is one of my students. One of my favorite students in fact. And if you and Telma do have personal relationship with the Hero reborn, than I believe that the Goddesses have brought these young people to us so we may aid them."

"Zelda was looking up information on the Triforce the other day; her piece most have awakened and she was trying to figure out what it meant." Shad theorized

Rusl leaned back in his chair thinking about the incident at the carnival last night. "Someone tried to kidnap Zelda last night, a man named Zant. I'll bet anything that he came after her because of the Triforce."

"So you think this Dark Lord guy told him to do it?" Ashei asked, becoming slightly more interested in what's happening.

"I can't be sure, but most likely. According to most of Shad's research the Dark Lord often had others do some of his dirty work."

"And he's after this girl because…?"

"Honestly do you know nothing about your history?" Shad asked.

"Calm down darling." Telma said trying to pacify the irritated researcher. She then turned to answer Ashei's question, "He's after both the Princess and the Hero because together they are the only ones able to defeat the Dark Lord. At least that's how the stories go. So you take out the Princess, and the Hero isn't as big a threat."

"And if the Dark Lord isn't stopped?"

Rusl looks Ashei dead in the eyes as he says, "First Hyrule comes under his control, then the rest of the world."

Ashei takes in all the information she's hearing with a stony expression. She's not entirely sure if she believes everything the people around her are telling her, but she decides she can't take the risk, "Alright, so what do we do now?"

Rusl spoke up first, "The way I figure it, Auru is right, we were brought into Link and Zelda's lives so we can help them achieve their destiny. Link managed to take Zant down last night, but just barely from what I could see. He's going to need someone to train him in the way of the sword if he's going to survive the coming battles."

Telma leans forward and puts her elbows on the table, "So let me guess you're going to do be taking care of the whole training thing?"

"I haven't touched my sword in years," Rusl said with a faraway look in his eyes, "I taught Link the basics when he was little and he took a few swordplay classes in high school, but if he is to have any chance against the Dark Lord he's going to need more than what I have to teach. I was actually hoping Archibald would do the honors." His last statement directed to Ashei. "He is one of the finest swordsmen in Hyrule after all."

The girl shook her head, "Dad can't train anyone in the condition he's in." She seemed sad for a change, instead of bored or sarcastic, it was clear her father's ailment was a big deal and was weighting heavy on her. "But he is a tough old man. Maybe if we give him a week or so, y'know if we wait for him to get stronger?" Her voice clearly filled with hope, remorse, and just twinge of denial.

"Ashei," Rusl started, "I'm sorry to hear about your father's illness, but we can't wait for him to get better. Link needs to be able to protect himself as soon as possible."

Ashei thought for a minute, she stood up and stated firmly, "Then I'll do it." The expression on her face declaring that no one challenge her.

It was silent for a moment as no one was sure how to react to Ashei's offer. Finally, Rusl simply said, "Fine, go for it." Ashei nodded and took her seat.

Telma whispered to him, "I like her."

Shad spoke up next, "Alright so Link is squared away, but what about Zelda. How are we going to protect her while Link is training? Isn't it his job to keep the Princess safe?"

"I thought about that actually. When I asked Renado about getting in touch with Archibald I also asked if he could teach the Princess about magic."

Ashei rolled her eyes as she thought, 'Oh great, now there's magic.'

"How do you know if Zelda can ever use magic? It's not exactly the most common thing in the world anymore." Auru said.

Telma added, "It's true, I think Renado is the only person I can think of than can use magic."

"This is why he's the one who has to teach Zelda." Rusl simply replied.

Shad spoke up next, "Well, according to all my research, the Princess is said to possess powerful magical skills. I don't see how Zelda would any different."

"I doubt she is." Rusl went deep into thought for only a moment, suddenly the appearance of a sword at the fairgrounds made a lot more sense.

Ashei brought Rusl out of his reserves, "Alright, fine. So I'll teach this Link guy how to fight and Ran-what's-his-face will teach Zelda about magic. Are we done here?"

The older members of the group looked at each other and nodded, Rusl was the first to stand, "Yeah, we're done here. But we still got a lotta of work to do."


	4. The Paths Before Them

The legend of Zelda: Urban Legend

Chapter four: The paths before them

The last chapter was originally part of this one, but it was taking so long I decided to split them up into two. Sorry this took long, I was having some computer trouble so I couldn't write as often as I wanted. So anyway, here you go.

* * *

><p>Zelda sat upon her throne in the most expensive dress and regel air. It was the kind of thing that everyone would expect of the Princess of Hyrule. Noble, dignified, elegant; Zelda exemplified all these things. Her face was a mask of impassiveness, showing only a cool temperament and a sense of calm. It was a mask she felt was necessary for the men surrounding her: Soldiers, weapons ready to defend their princess. The attack of the Gerudo was completely unexpected and Hyrule's army was not fully prepared for it. The attack seemed to be unprovoked and frankly confused Zelda. The Gerudo tribe were thieves and have been for generations. They had a strong dislike for Hylians and robbed them any chance they found. Zelda's father, the king of Hyrule, often thought of doing something about the Gerudo, but reconsidered because they didn't technically belong to the Hyrulian kingdom. The Gerudo desert lies right at the boarder of Hyrule so there was little he could do to punish them. But at least they rarely attack within the borders of the kingdom, and never had they staged an attack of this scale. Zelda's father stated it was the work of the Ruler of the Gerudo, the only man to be born to the all-female tribe that this happened. Zelda is reminded of this as the King of Thieves himself entered the throne room.<p>

He dismissed the two Gerudo thieves that accompanied him and Zelda did the same with her guards. She maintained eye contact with the Thief King during this time, keeping her expressions hard to read. Her father being felled in battle only days ago, Zelda was the ruler of Hyrule now, she was the face of her people and she was determined to prove to this invader that the Hylian people will not kowtow to intimidation. She will be strong, she will show no fear. The only problem with that was that she was terrified. When she looked into the Thief King's eyes, Zelda saw only hatred and malice. There was a dark malevolence that was more fitting of a demon than a man. She found it hard to stay strong with him around. The Thief King smiled a sinister smile at Zelda and she had the overwhelming feeling that he knew of her fear despite her desperate attempts to conceal it.

Just as she was about to give into her fear, a new figure entered the large room. A young man with dirty blond hair and green tunic, sword and shield in hand, stands in the archway of the throne room. Zelda's fear quickly subsides as the young warrior appears. His eyes are at the same time similar and contrasting to that of the Thief King; feral and savage, and at the same time filled with compassion and kindness. Zelda feels hopeful for herself and the kingdom she has sworn to protect. The Thief King and the young warrior lock eyes and the hatred radiating off the Thief King grows stronger. He draws his sword, an eerie looking glowing blade, and the two swordsmen clash; the bright flash waking Zelda from her dream.

She jets up from underneath her covers breathing heavily, as if she had just lived through everything she had seen. She then hears Malon in the other bed, "Zel, are you okay? " She was in a tank top and panties reading a magazine.

Zelda simply nodded. "Yeah; weird dream." She wiped the sweat off her forehead also brushing back a few strands of hair hanging in her face. She looked over and noticed that Malon was still staring at her "What? Is something wrong?"

"Your tattoo was glowing." Zelda was still somewhat groggy from just waking up and it took her a minute to figure out what Malon had meant. When she finally remembered the Triforce, she instinctively covered her right hand and to think of something to say to Malon that would explain what she just saw meant, but couldn't think of anything believable. Not that the truth was exactly easy to accept as believable either. "Don't worry about it." Zelda looked back at Malon, still holding her own hand. "It's obviously something you're not comfortable talking about it yet, so I won't force you. But when you are ready, I'll be here." Malon gave Zelda a big bright smile to reassure her dorm mate.

Zelda smiled back, "Thanks." She looks to her right and saw the clock reading 9:23am. Her dream had woken her up over a half hour before she was supposed to be, allowing her more time to get ready for her first class. She got out of bed and went to take a shower. Ordinarily Zelda would have gotten up earlier for her shift at Sky Temple books, especially after she left for her date with Link before her shift was over yesterday. But her boss, Shad, called her last night after she came home from the hospital and told her he was taking the day off so she didn't need to come into work. She thought it was odd but didn't say anything about it.

When she came back to her dorm, she noticed Malon still on her bed, except lying on her stomach and reading a different magazine. "Malon, shouldn't you be getting ready for class to?"

Malon just scoffed, "Relax Zel. My first class doesn't start until noon, remember? I've got plenty of time." She turns the page of her magazine, "Oh, guess who's pregnant!" She asked Zelda in a singsong voice. Zelda just smiled and shook her head as she went over to her closet to find something to wear. "Hey Zel," Zelda looked over to Malon after she had slipped on a bra and panties and took off her wet towel, "What was up with that dream you had. It looked like it really freaked you out. You're okay, right?" She asked concerned.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine," Zelda answered pulling out a blouse and putting it on. "It was actually kinda silly."

"Well tell me about it. Maybe it means something. I am taking Psychology remember?"

"Which you only took to meet a guy." Zelda replied chuckling as she slips on an ankle length skirt. 'Still, I guess it couldn't hurt to tell her.' She thought. "Alright I'll tell you." She sits down on her bed facing Malon and takes a deep breath, "Well I was a princess, and I was in trouble."

"Wow, I haven't had a princess dream since I was little. So let me guess, a handsome prince came to rescue you."

Zelda smiled, "Yeah something like that." She remembered that the hero from her dream looked exactly like Link. She looked down at the Triforce that bound them together. She was happy that Link was a part of her life now, but then she wondered, 'If I'm Wisdom, and Link is Courage, then where's Power?' She shook the thought out of her head and put on her white gloves as she got off the bed, "I'd better get going. I've got a new teacher and I didn't want to be late."

Malon shrugged and went back to her magazine. But then she realizes something, "Wait, your first class is Folklore, right?"

Zelda stopped right before getting to the door, "Yeah it is. I'm actually a little surprised you remembered."

Malon gets off her bed and walks over to Zelda, "Of course I remember. Everyone on campus is talking about it!"

"About my Folklore class?" Zelda asked confused. Then it dawned on her why, "Oh yeah! Because the new teacher is a male Gerudo."

"Exactly!" Malon said, excited.

"I almost forgot. The only man born into the Gerudo tribe in one hundred years, and he's teaching at our school."

"And I hear he is totally ripped."

Zelda couldn't help but burst out laughing when Malon said that. "Really, Malon? The only male Gerudo in a hundred years is teaching here and what you focus on is how attractive he's supposed to be?"

Malon puts her hands on her hips defensively, "Hey guys ogle the Gerudo all the time, what's so bad about us checking out the one Gerudo guy in the world."

Zelda chuckles slightly, "Alright, fine. I have to get going anyway." She moves to open the door.

Just when she is about to leave Malon stops her, "Hey Zel do you think that you that you can take a picture of the new teacher for me?"

"How about I don't and say I did." And closed the door.

On her way to class Zelda thought about both the new teacher and her dream. According to the book she took from Sky Temple after her shift yesterday so she could continue reading after her date, the original owner of the Triforce of Power was a male Gerudo. She tried not to assume that this man who is about to teach her class is the owner of the Triforce of Power, or if he is that he is inherently evil. Still, she couldn't stop the thought from crossing her mind. She actually hoped that wasn't the case, Zelda had always wanted to talk to a Gerudo man and ask him what it was like to be the only male in a society populated entirely by women. Obviously she never thought she'd really get the opportunity, but she figured she could at least try after class. She just hoped his answer wasn't…gross.

When Zelda entered her Folklore classroom all of the students were talking about the new teacher, no one really knew what his name was but a few people claimed it began with a G. Gordon, Galek, and Gorman were only a few of the names that the other students had guessed; but somehow Zelda knew they were wrong. She took a seat near the back of the room. Usually she'd try and get a seat up front but most of the front seats were taken by other girls who, like Malon, heard how attractive the new teacher was supposed to be. It didn't take long for the professor to arrive. Many of the girls swooned at his impressive build and the guys pretty much all agreed, with only a small amount of jealousy, that the new professor looked ripped. All of the students seemed to approve of the teacher upon first appearances. The main exception was Zelda. As soon as the professor entered the room, Zelda's blood ran cold and her face froze in an expression of pure fear.

The professor walked over to the blackboard and wrote his name on it. He turned to his class to introduce himself, "Good morning class," He said with a smile and gruff voice, "I am Prof. Ganondorf Dragmire; and I will be your Hyrulian Folklore teacher this semester."

Despite the smile on his face, Prof. Dragmire's voice only caused Zelda to shake uncontrollably. Even though he had a pleasant demeanor, Zelda could literally feel the evil and malicious aura coming off of him. She had never been this scared in her life. Well, that wasn't true; she did remember feeling fear like this only once before; in her dream, when the man standing before her class, dressed in black armor, came into her throne room. Zelda stared at him, unable or unwilling to do or say anything out of fear that the professor would kill her just for saying something. A boy next to her noticed Zelda's odd behavior and asked if there was anything wrong. Zelda finally choked out in a whisper, "It's him…the King of Thieves." Prof. Dragmire, either somehow hearing her voice or simply sensing her fear, turns to Zelda and his friendly veil disappears for only a second, just long enough to give her a sinister smile. He had her in his sights, and Zelda felt the dark aura surrounding him intensify, nearly causing her to faint. Beneath her white gloves, Zelda's Triforce mark began to glow. She hid her hand under her desk knowing what it meant; she had found the Triforce of Power.

XXXXXXXX

Link was riding his skate board to Telma's, albeit at a much slower pace than usual. He was still pretty banged up from his fight with Zant the night before. His Triforce of Courage caused most of his less serious wounds to heal during the night, but the cut on his side was too deep to be healed yet.

He rolled into the dinner, all ready to apologize and catch whatever hell Telma was going to give him for being late. But Telma was nowhere to be seen. Fado waved to him from behind the counter, "What's up, bud? Man, are you lucky Telma ain't here today." He went back to taking orders.

Link picked up his board and walked behind the counter, "Telma really isn't here? Where is she?"

"Don't know man. She called 'n said that she wasn't going to show up until late. I think she said something about a meeting or something?"

Link gave Fado an unsure look, "And she left you in charge?"

"Yeah, so? I can be in charge for a while."

Just then a customer came up to the counter and put a plate with four eggs in front of Fado, "Hey jackass! You screwed up my order! I asked for four egg whites, these are four raw eggs!"

Link just chuckled as he went to the kitchen to let Fado get chewed out by the customer. Link placed his board down in the corner like he did every day and greeted Midna. "You are soooo lucky Telma isn't here today." She said off-handedly, continuing to cook.

"Yeah so I heard from Fado." Midna smirked as Link took off his hoodie, wincing because of the cut on his side. Midna didn't notice. He looked at the shirt for a second before hanging it up. Looking at the symbol on the right shoulder he quietly thanked Farore herself that he wasn't wearing this when he fought Zant. Then he cursed her for putting him in that situation in the first place. Zelda had told him the basic information about the Triforce; that each piece held the essence of one of the three Goddesses. As the wielder of Courage, Link held the essence of Farore. He supposed that made sense. Farore had been his family's patron goddess for generations, pretty much anything that happened Link had looked to the goddess of courage for guidance. But now, he had to wonder: Why would the goddesses chose him of all people to hold the Triforce. It's not like he was anything special. What right did they have to put his and Zelda's lives in danger? "Cause they're the Goddesses, that's why."

"What was that Link?"

"Ah, nothing, never mind." Link hung up his shirt, grabbed an apron, and pick up an order slip Fado had left, "Short stack, side of hash browns, and coffee."

"On it." Midna replied as she finished the meal she was currently preparing, "Link table four," she said pointing to the plate she just finished while gathering the ingredients for the next order.

Link delivered the plate of food to Fado then returned to his internal musing as he helped Midna with the next plate. 'Alright so it's not so bad. I mean except for the huge cut on my side the Triforce did heal me up pretty good. And without it I don't know if I'd have Zelda in my life. We're bonded by the Triforce; I'm supposed to protect her. Huh, I'm supposed to protect someone. That is really weird to say.'

"Thinking about Zelda?" Midna's voice brings Link back to reality.

"Huh. Wha-I don't…Uh, why would you say that."

"Whenever you think about a girl you have a thing for you get this really stupid grin on your face." She said with a smirk. He got an embarrassed smile on his face and scratches the back of his neck. Midna just chuckled, "Speaking of the fair Miss Zelda, heard your date last night went well."

Link looked at her confused, "You heard? From who, Kafei?" Kafei and Midna may not have been very close but when it came to information that could embarrass Link they always managed to tell each other first.

Except this time apparently, "No it wasn't Kafei. It was the news." Link's confusion only grew, "That show you put on during the Carnival of Light isn't something I would have expected of you Link. But, hey if it got Zelda to not wanna dump your ass after the first date, I say more power to ya."

"Thanks, that really means a lot," Link said in a flat tone of voice. He wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult, but he was pretty sure it wasn't a compliment. "And for the record that wasn't a show."

"What do you mean it wasn't a show?" Midna asked turning around to look at Link.

"I mean, real fight, real swords," Link lifted up his shirt to show her the bandages keeping his stitches intact, "Real damage."

Midna just stared at the injury Link had sustained during the previous night. "Some head case tried to kidnap Zelda. I fought him off and got this." He pulled his shirt down as he continued, "But it's no big deal," He patted his side to smooth out his shirt and shock of pain jolted up his body. Grabbing his side he doubled over for a second before standing up straight again. "Although I am still pretty beat up." He took the finished plate and left it for Fado to deliver to its intended costumer.

Midna continued staring at Link as the pain from his wound subsided. 'So Link got hurt protecting that girl? He must really care about her even though they only meet two days ago.' Midna turned back towards the grill to hide the smile on her face. "Well I'm just glad you're in one piece. Now maybe the big fat hero can get the next order?"

"I'm not fat." Link said with huge grin on his face as he received the order and read it off.

They both gather the ingredients and began preparing the food. "So out of curiosity, do you know who the guy you fought was?"

"Yeah, I think Rusl said his name was Zant or something."

Midna dropped the spatula she was cooking with the second Link said his opponent's name, "Did...you say Zant?"

Link looked at Midna, "Uh, yeah. Why?"

After about a minute, Midna picked up her cooking utensil as if nothing happened, "No reason. Forget I said anything."

Link didn't say anything more and the two just continued working. But then he started thinking about both Zant and Midna. Now that he thought about it, they looked a lot alike. They had the same teal colored skin, same fiery eyes, they even had similar tattoos except Midna's were on her arms, and Zant's were on his neck. The only thing the two didn't seem to have in common was Midna's orange hair. And that was only because Link couldn't see Zant's hair underneath his skull cap.

With all this running through his head, Link had to ask the question that popped into his head, "Midna, do you know Zant?"

She didn't answer; she only kept cooking until the meal was done. She fixed the plate, put it in the window, and took another order slip down, "Four cheese omelet, side of bacon and orange juice. Got that Link?" Link just nodded and they got back to work.

XXXXXXXX

Zant paced back and forth in his little cell. Zant had a fairly extensive criminal record, most of which had been misdiminers, but attacking Zelda and Link was his third felony. After his second arrest a psychologist had diagnosed him with extreme psychopathic rage and with this recent incident he was considered a danger to the general public, so he was scheduled to be transferred to Lurensa Asylum today. But before that happened, "Hey sword nut," One of the guards yelled, "You got a visitor!"

Zant walked to the front of the holding cell as a beautiful girl around Zant's age with blue skin, red hair, and a lot of purple came into view. "Veran! Hey, so you here bust me out, right? I mean, I am one of Ganon's Main guys."

Veran gets an amused smirk on her face, "Make that WAS one of his main guys." She materializes a gun in her hand, "Little tip: Ganondorf doesn't much like failure." She raises the gun, pointing it right in Zant's face.

"W-wait Veran, no, NOOO!" and she shoots him right between the eyes.

The police hear the gun shot and rush into the holding cell area. They don't find Veran, only Zant's dead body.

XXXXXXXX

Zelda tried to act as normal as possible given the circumstances, which was next to impossible really. Pretty much everything about Prof. Dragmire scared Zelda senseless. His eyes, his voice, his baring. Although no one else seemed to see it.

She could barely pay any attention during class. During his entire lecture her thoughts kept alternating between the dream she had before class when she first saw Prof. Dragmire, and the overwhelming feeling that he would have killed her in cold blood if there weren't so many other people around.

After two of the longest hours of her life, Prof. Dragmire ended class. While the other students gathered their things and walked out of the class room, Zelda stayed in her seat for a few minutes longer. After dismissing his class, Prof. Dragmire sat at his desk just staring at Zelda with a sadistic grin on his face. Zelda eventually found the strength to get up and leave as well. As she passed his desk, Prof. Dragmire stopped her before she walked out the door, "Miss Nohanson, if I may speak with you?"

Zelda froze where she stood with the doorknob still in her hand, too terrified to move. Prof. Dragmire stood up from his seat, "Please Miss Nohanson; if you will." He had the same kind polite tone of voice that he used throughout his entire lecture, but Zelda could still tell that it was just an act.

Zelda finally let go of the doorknob and turned to face the Professor. "W-what did you want to talk to me about, Professor?"

Prof. Dragmire gave her a kind smile before beginning, "It's quite simple. I just wanted to tell you how glad I am that you're taking my class." The Gerudo professor bowed to Zelda slightly to show his respect for her, however false it most likely was. She didn't know how to react to it, so she just remained silent. "I have spoken extensively with Prof. Auru about you. He said that you are a very gifted student, brilliant even. Such a thirst for knowledge is rare for someone so young. I was rather…excited to know I'd have the honor of teaching you." His expression changed to one that is filled with nothing but malice. "You are truly deserving of the crest of Wisdom."

Zelda's eyes widened in surprise and terror. She dropped her books and took a few steps backwards. 'He-he knows…he knows who I am.' She just stared at him, and he seemed to actually, physically grow in size as he walked closer to her; towering over her even more than before. Then something sparked into her mind. "You-you're the one who sent Zant after me, aren't you?"

Ganondorf just smirked, "I sent Zant to observe you only. His trying to capture you was not part of my motives. Do not worry, my Princess…" He stroked Zelda's sandy brown hair, sending a shiver down her spine. As he pulled his hand away he clenched his fist, showing her the Triforce of Power on the back of his hand. "…We will have our time. Soon." Zelda's Triforce mark began to resonate with Ganondorf's.

Their eyes lock and begin a strange kind of staring contest, one that Zelda was clearly losing. Just as Ganondorf was about to touch her again, a knock came for the door. Prof. Auru poked his head in to see if anyone was still in class, "Prof. Dragmire?" He quickly notice both Ganondorf and Zelda, "Ah, there you are and with Miss Nohanson. Getting to know my favorite student I see."

"Of course. After everything you've told me about her, how could I not want to meet with the famous Zelda Nohanson." The grim and evil aura that surrounded Ganondorf disappeared, although not completely, enough so that not too many others could see it.

Certainly Prof. Auru didn't. "Right, right. Well, Professor, I do hate to ask you to leave your own classroom, but I have something rather important to talk to Miss Nohanson about."

Zelda suddenly became very worried. Prof. Dragmire pretty much said the same thing and it didn't end well. The sinister teacher walked past Zelda and Auru to the door, "I understand Prof. Auru. There are things that I must take care of any way." As he was about to leave the room, he turned back to Zelda, "I'll see you again soon, Miss Nohanson."

Zelda backed away from Ganondorf until she hit the desk, wanting as much space between her and the Dark lord reborn as possible. "Ah, that Ganondorf is such an interesting man."

"Y-yeah, interesting." Or psychotic and terrifying as Zelda might put it. "Um, Professor, what did you want to talk to me about," 'Please don't let it be that you're evil.' She thought.

Auru got a very serious look on his face, "What I wanted to talk about is the Triforce."

Zelda's eyes bugged out of her head and she took a step back, bumping into the desk again. "Abo-huh? What?"

Auru's expression changes from stern to a lighter one "Do not fear. Yes, I know who you are and what you hold. But I can assure you that I am her to help…" He then kneels and bows his head to her. "…My Princess."

Zelda just looked at Prof. Auru as he rose to his feet. She had never been bowed to before, not like that at least. It felt odd to be honest. Once Auru was full length, he smiled at Zelda, "I know this all must be quite surprising for you. But I have one more surprise for you."

Auru stepped aside as another man entered the classroom, with blond hair and a policeman's uniform.

"Officer Rusl!"

Rusl bows to Zelda as well, although not as far down as Auru. "It's good to see you again Princess."

Zelda was in complete shock, not only was one of her teachers the wilder of the Triforce of Power, but another also somehow knew who she was, and now so did Link's childhood mentor. 'I don't know how much more I can take today.' She shook herself out of her stupor to ask the most obvious question present. "How, how do you two know about…well, me?"

"It's not just you Miss Nohanson, we also know about Mr. Masters." Auru said to her.

Rusl stepped forward, "I'm afraid that it's my fault. In the hospital I wanted to make sure Link was okay before I left. So I stayed behind a little longer and saw the marks on your hands glowing. It was the most brilliant light I never thought I'd see. All the same, I do feel the need to apologize for eavesdropping."

"Uh, that's alright. You were just looking out for Link. So, what did you guys …uh, I mean…um….Why are you here?"

"Like we said, we're here to help you." Rusl said in a calming voice to the clearly distressed girl. "Do you remember the sword that you found for Link last night?" Zelda nodded, of course she remembered. She was unable to think about much else last night except how she really obtained the sword for Link. "How did you really get it? I knew that there was no real chance of you just happening across a sword in the fair grounds. I didn't question it at the time because of what you and Link had been through, but now…"

Zelda still wasn't sure if explaining everything would be the best idea. But Prof. Auru was her favorite teacher, and Officer Rusl seemed nice enough and clearly he's trying to help Link by helping her. "Well, when Link and Zant were fighting I went off to find a weapon. And when I touched a hammer for one of the games, it turned into a sword."

"Like I thought."

"So Zelda does have the powers of magic." Auru mused, "Then perhaps your suggestion is for the best." Rusl nodded silently.

Zelda raised her hand to get the two men's attention. "Um…If I may ask..?" They both look at her and she lowers her hand, 'I feel like I'm in grade school again.' "What suggestion, exactly?"

Rusl gets an amused smile on his face before answering, "There is a friend of our in Kakariko Village, Renado. He is a shaman well versed in the ways of magic. I thought that he could teach you how to gain more control over your abilities."

Zelda thought about it for a minute. If she did have magical powers, then learning how to use them only made sense. She looked at the men before her, and silently nodded.

Rusl smiles at her, "Good, we'll take you to Kakariko as soon as…" Rusl stops when his cell phone goes off. "Let me take this, excuse me." And left the room.

"Um…Professor?" Prof. Auru turned back to Zelda smiling, "I'm wondering, how do you know officer Rusl?"

"Rusl and I are part of a group that has existed since the last time the Dark Lord rose. Our ancestors aided the Great Hero in his battle, and they decided to keep a vigilant watch if and when the Triforce wielders returned. That was, huh, 300 hundred years ago I believe."

"So your families have been waiting the last 300 years for Link and I?" Auru nodded, "wow, that's dedication."

The elderly professor just laughed, "Yes, well, I suppose it is. But I'm glad for it. To think I have the honor of meeting with the legendary Princess of Destiny." Zelda smiles at the professor, already her mind becoming more at ease with situation. "Now down to business. It is good that you agreed to Renado's tutelage Zelda. We may not know where the Dark Lord reborn is, but Rusl believes the ruffian who tried to abduct you last night may have been working for him. And if that is true, you will need to be able to defend yourself while the Hero receives his training."

"And speaking of Zant," Rusl announced as he walked back into the room, "He's dead."

Zelda's eyes widened in surprise, "What do you mean dead?"

Rusl sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair, "Apparently a young woman came to visit Zant. After a few minutes the other officers in the precinct heard a gunshot. When they went to investigate the woman was gone and Zant was lying on the floor with a bullet in his head."

Prof. Auru got a grim look on his face, "It would appear the Dark Lord doesn't appreciate failure."

"So you think he sent this woman to kill Zant for failing him?" Rusl asked.

Based on the last few minutes Zelda spent with the evil professor, she wouldn't doubt it. She figured now would be the best time to revel to them the identity of the Dark Lord, but they just went on with their conversation like she wasn't even there. "I don't think it is a coincidence that this Zant person would be killed the day after failing to kidnap the Princess of Destiny." Auru mused, "Do you have any idea who the young woman is?"

"Um… excuse me..?"

"No, she wrote the name Viola Let in the visitor's registry. But as far as we can tell it's a fake name."

"I have something to-"

"Well there must be something we can go by; this young lady may lead us to the Dark Lord himself."

"But I know where the-"

"Some of the other officers may be able to give a description of the girl. But if she wasn't originally from Hyrule it might make things more difficult."

Zelda, feed up with being ignored, whistled loudly to get their attention. Both older men look at the young Princess after recovering from the sonic blast she unleashed. "I know who the Dark Lord is. It's Prof. Dragmire. " She stated plainly.

Auru and Rusl exchange looks of surprise before turning their full attention back to Zelda. "Are you sure?" Auru said with a furrowed brow.

"Yes," She replied, "He showed me the Triforce mark on the back of his hand."

Auru looked down as he put a hand on his chin contemplatively, "To think he was so close and I didn't know."

"If he is already this close to Zelda then we have to get her to Kakariko as soon as possible." Rusl said to Auru. He then turns to Zelda, "Are you ready to go?" Zelda simply nodded and followed the two men out of the classroom.

As they walked to Rusl's squad car, Auru said to Zelda, "I have already told the dean that you will be going on a short leave of absents. You will spend the next week at Renado's sanctuary for your lessons. Is that acceptably?"

"Yes of course." Zelda replied in her usual polite tone.

As Auru opened the door to the squad car allowing Zelda to enter, she had a sudden sense of Daja Vu. All of a sudden, she saw herself as a child, being place on top of a white horse by an older woman with white hair pulled back into a short ponytail. The woman seemed to be dressed as a ninja and was very well built. She got on the horse after Zelda was settled and rode off into a city under attack. The ninja woman tried to shield Zelda's eyes from the carnage they passed. But she was still able to see the bodies of slain soldiers and civilians alike littering the ground of Castle Town. The fires that engulfed her beloved kingdom would be forever seared into her mind as she and her ninja protector made their way through the war torn city.

Amidst the destruction Zelda and the ninja woman spotted another rider on a black demonic steed. The rider glares at the two of them with a wicked smile. Without a second thought Zelda's bodyguard turned the white mare towards Castle Town's gates and rode towards them as fast as its legs could take them.

As they crossed the draw bridge out of Castle Town, Zelda spotted someone, a boy no older than herself in a green tunic standing in the way of the speeding steed. He ran out of the way before he was run over staring in awe as the young royal and her bodyguard rode past. Zelda took this opportunity to throw an important object to the boy. As she rode away from the flaming city Zelda said quietly more to herself than to the boy, "Link, be safe."

"Zelda! Zelda, come back to us! Zelda!"

Zelda was brought back to reality by Prof. Auru shaking her. She blinks a few times to focus on what's happening and looks at Auru slightly dazed. "Huh, what..?"

"Zelda, are you alright?" Rusl asked looking at her from the driver's seat.

"Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

The two men looked at each other with worried expressions before Auru answered her, "You seemed to be in some kind of trance my dear. Your eyes were far away and you were breathing heavily. As if you were having some sort of panic attack."

"And then you said something about Link." Rusl added clearly worried that his former protégée may be in some kind of danger.

"Oh, I, uh…I'm sorry to worry you. But I'm fine. Really." Zelda hoped that they believed her. They exchanged a look she couldn't tell the meaning of before they dropped the subject. Rusl started the car and the three of them drove off.

Zelda couldn't help but think about whatever it was that just happened to her. The strange vision was almost exactly like the dream she had this morning. It seemed so real and so vivid, like she was actually there. It didn't seem like a dream, more like a memory. No. Not a memory either. Something else; something she couldn't explain really. She just hoped that this training stuff would help her better understand what is going on with her.

XXXXXXXX

Link and Midna worked in silence for the rest of the breakfast and lunch crowds. The only time they talked to each other was to raddle off whatever a customer had just ordered.

Link occasionally tried to think of something to say to Midna, but couldn't bring himself to break the deafening silence that Midna had blanketed the room with and eventually just gave up. Link had never thought the small kitchen could ever be as quiet as it was that day. Usually the two cooks would be talking almost constantly while they worked. They very rarely talked about anything one would consider important, but it was never boring. It still wasn't boring now; he just wished it wasn't so damn uncomfortable.

Like most days Link would help Fado deliver the food to the customers during the lunch rush after preparing it; all the while still thinking about the possible relationship between Zant and his best friend. Link hadn't known Midna for very long, only for about a year or so. Still they had gotten very close very fast after consoling each other during equally dark times in their lives. For Link it was the death of his High school sweetheart Marin. She died in a horrible car crash that nearly cost Link his and Aryell's lives as well. Link spilled everything to Midna and it helped him with his survivor's guilt to no end. But Midna never reciprocated the gesture. She simply said that having someone genuinely care about her was all she really needed at the time. So whatever was worrying Midna remained with her. As secretive as Midna could be at times, that first meeting opened the flood gates for a strong, and at times abusive, friendship. Ever since they became friends Link would sometimes try and figure out why Midna was so broken up back then, but every time he did Midna would either change the subject or do something insane to distract him. But considering her reaction to Zant's name, Link figured he might've had something to do with that time.

Link returned to the kitchen after delivering another meal to see Midna still working silently. He went over to the window connecting to kitchen and the front and took another order slip, but before he started reading it he noticed Telma walking through the front door, "Hey, Telma's back!" Link looked back at Midna excited that his boss had returned. "You know Midna; you could tell Telma I was late. Y'know, get me in trouble? I know seeing me get yelled at always make you laugh." Link got a big stupid grin on his face trying, and failing, to get the orange haired Goth to respond. But she just walked up to him, handed him the order she was working on and took the next one out of his hand. As she walked to the store room to get what was needed to make the next meal, Link just sighed and placed the plate for Fado to retrieve and deliver.

Link looked at Midna for a second. She was either too distracted by her own thoughts to hear anything Link had to say, or she was purposely ignoring him knowing that interaction could lead to another uncomfortable question about Zant. But he had enough, Midna would talk to him even if he had to tie her down and pour a truth serum down her throat. But before any tying could be done, Telma walked into the kitchen. "Well how's my two favorite employees?"

"What was that!" Fado asked from the counter.

"Oh, nothing hon." Telma gave wry smile as she entered the kitchen completely. It didn't last long however as she could feel the bad vibes in the room. She walked up to Link, "So…how ARE you two doing?"

"Uh…well…" Link was kinda at a loss for words, not sure how to address Midna's melancholy since he wasn't sure of the cause himself.

Midna, however, didn't give him a chance to figure it out. "Link, help me out here."

Link sighed and went to help, though not with what he wanted to. Telma looked at both young people and wondered what was going between them. She cared about the both of them, and on any other day she would spend the rest of the day trying to help them; as long as she didn't have to do too much. But today she had something much more important to take care of. She just hoped that they would be able to figure things out later. "Sorry Midna, Link and I got something to talk about."

Link stops before getting to the grill and gives her an off look. "Uh…okay, about what?"

Telma gave Midna a side look not wanting her other employee to get any more involved than she has to be, which, if she has any say in it, will be as close to zero as possible. "It has to do with what happened at the carnival last night." She gets close to him and whispers in his ear, "And that thing on the back of your hand? I'll be wantin' to talk to you about that, too." And with that she gave him one of her signature winks.

Link was taken dumbstruck by Telma mentioning his hand, only assuming that she was talking about the Triforce. He stammered try to just process that his boss knows about the Triforce, "Uh…what? I don't-I don't know what you…uh…"

Telma just laughs at Link's speechlessness. "Don't worry hon, I'll explain everything outside. Come on."

Just as Link, still fairly confused, started to follow Telma, Midna dropped what she was holding at the time getting both Link and Telma's attention. "Wait!" They hadn't noticed but Midna had actually stopped moving for some time. She just quietly listened to what was happening between Telma and Link. Once Telma was about to move their conversation outside, she decided to take action. She turned on her heel and walked up to Telma. "I wanna hear what you have to say too."

Telma was surprised and Link just got more confused. "Okay…" Telma gave Midna an off look, "…Can I ask why?"

"You said what you have to say to Link has something to do with last night, right?" Telma nodded, "Then I want to know what so important for Link to know."

Telma gave her a stern look, "Midna, What I'm about to tell Link doesn't concern you."

"If it concerns Zant it concerns me."

That last thing didn't escape Link's notice, but pointing that out now with two very strong-willed, slightly terrifying women fighting would not be the best idea. Telma puts her hands on her hips and looks Midna square in the eyes, intending to end the Goth girl's resistance for good, "Alright missy, look! If you don't get right back to that grill and start cook you're fired!"

"Fine, fire me! Now there's nothing stopping me from listening to whatever you have to say." Midna countered with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

Telma was pretty much stuck. She didn't think Midna would just throw her job away like that. Link was pretty shocked too. He didn't know what to do or what to say in the present situation, so, naturally, he just didn't say anything. After a minute, with Midna still staring the dinner owner down, Telma just smiled. 'Now I remember why I like this girl so much, she's got spunk.' "Alright honey, come on. I got a lot to say."

Midna blinked twice, surprised that Telma actually back down. But then she just smirked having won the argument and followed Telma out the kitchen. Link Followed after her, but was still somewhat unsure about what just happened. As the three of them left the kitchen, Fado almost immediately freaked out, "H-hey wait, why's everyone leavin' the kitchen?"

"Sorry Fado baby, the three of us got some things to work out." Telma threw out like it was no big deal.

"Well whose gonna do the cookin?"

"You can handle that can't cha?"

"And I think I left something burning on the grill so you might want take care of that. Hee hee." Midna said with her usual mischievous tone.

The three of them walked out of the front door as Fado ran in the back to tend to the black smoke that started to come from the kitchen. Midna found this endlessly amusing. When they got out front Link and Midna spotted a young girl leaning against Telma's car. "Who's she?" Midna asked as soon as she saw her.

Ashei ignored her completely and looked Link over. "You're kidding right? That's the Hero? He's a friggin Twigboy; I could kick his ass without even trying." Link glared at her angrily while Midna just looked confused.

Telma put a hand on Link's shoulder and gave him a warm smile, "Y'know, you are pretty skinny," Link couldn't help but smile at the insult for the simple reason that it was Telma. "Now, maybe you can show us your hand?"

Link knew exactly what her question was about, and after a moment he figured, "What the hell…" He removed the glove on his left hand and showed the three women around him the mark of the Triforce.

"Well, I'll be." Telma said softly.

"He's still a Twigboy." Ashei scoffed

"Link you got a tattoo without me!" Midna yelled, visually livid. She slaps him upside the head before continuing, "I told you I wanted to be with you when you got a tattoo so I could pick out something badass." She looks down at the symbol embedded into Link's skin, "I mean I guess it's not bad, but still…"

Link pulls his hand away and tells Midna, "Uh, yeah, actually this isn't a tattoo." He then turns his attention to Telma, "But how did you know about it?"

"Rusl told me."

"Rusl, wait, how does he know about this?'

Telma was about to explain things to Link when Ashei said, "Hey, who's bored here? I am. Can we move on please?" Telma just chuckled to herself and walked over to her car. She went into the back seat and pulled out a sword. She threw it to Link saying, "So Link 'member this?"

Link caught the sword and pulled it from its sheath. After examining it he realized, "Hey is the sword I use to fight Zant."

"That's right hon; Rusl thought you'd be needin' it."

"Needing it for what?" Link asked more than a little nervous.

"What do you thin, dumbass?" Ashei said clearly becoming more impatient as the convocation dragged on. "You wanna keep the Princess safe you're gonna have to learn how to use that thing."

Midna decide she had been quite for long enough and finally put her two rupees in, "Okay, hold it. Swords, Princesses, weird tattoos, Link what the hell is going on?"

Link sheathed the sword before turning to Midna "Uh, well, you see this?" He lifts his left hand to show her the mark. She nods and Link continues, "The thing is, this isn't a tattoo. It's called the Triforce. It basically means that I 'm the reincarnation of an ancient hero and I'll probably have to save the world eventually." He ended his explanation with a sheepish grin and waited for Midna's reaction.

Midna blinked at Link a few times before erupting in laughter. "Hahahaha, Link saving the world that's just…hahaha!" She was laughing so hard she fell over with tears in her eyes.

"Well, this doesn't affect my self-esteem at all." Link says to himself.

Finally starting to calm down, Midna got back on her feet and wiped her eyes, "Okay, okay seriously what's going on?"

"I'm afraid it's all true Midna," Telma said placing a hand on Link's shoulder, "Lil Linky here got his self a big job to do."

Midna just started at her then turned to Link, "And I'm guessing the Princess is…"

"Zelda, yeah. She has a piece of the Triforce too."

"Rusl thinks that Zant fella who tried to kidnap Zelda last night is working for whoever owns the third piece of the Triforce." Said Telma, "And now he might be after Link too. So he's got to be ready to protect himself."

"Uh, yeah about that," Link brought everyone's attention to him, "I'd be more than willing to learn how to swordfight better, but I kinda have a huge gash on my side. So maybe we can hold off until I don't run the risk of bleeding out by lifting my hands over my head."

"Don't worry Twigboy, I got something for you." Ashei walked up to Link and pulled out a small vial with red liquid in it. She hands the vial to Link, "Here, drink this."

Link takes the vial from her and looks at it suspiciously. He then shrugs his shoulders in an "Eh, why not" kind of way, pops the cork on it and downs the drink in one gulp. Link coughs after taking the drink, "Ah man that stuff's nasty." Then his eyes widened, he patted down his side and didn't feel any pain. "Hey, my side doesn't hurt anymore."

"That red stuff I gave you is called Heart Potion. It can heal almost any injury instantaneously."

"Cool. You got any more?"

"Only five more vials. The herbs required for the potion is nearly extinct."

Telma smiles at Link and asks him, "So, are you ready, Link?" He just nods with a determined look on his face. "Alright then. Ashei here is going to be your teacher for the next week or so. Once that's over we'll figure out our next move."

"I'm going with you." Midna said bluntly.

Everyone present looked at he surprised. "What? No, no way." Link stood in protest.

"Link, I'm going with you." Midna restated becoming more firm in her resolve.

"No you're not. Midna do you have any idea how dangerous all this is? I nearly got my guts sliced open last night, I don't want you to get hurt. It's bad enough Zelda's involved in this, I don't want you to have anything to do with this."

Midna crosses her arms and looks Link down, "That's very chivalrous of you Link. But you are not leaving me behind. Where ever you go, I follow and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop me." She pushes past Link and the other two women and got into the back seat of Telma's car.

They all just looked at Midna as she entered the car. Telma, as much as she hated to admit it, said to Link, "Well, there you go. Guess you're stuck with her." And followed Midna to her car.

"Finally, let's get this over with." Ashei let out getting into the car herself.

"Wha-wait, I just-I-I…"Link stuttered trying to get his say into what's going on. When it was obvious that wasn't going to happen, he let out a defeated sigh and got into the car with the others.

Just before Telma is about to drive off, Midna tells her to wait and gets out of the car. She runs back in the dinner, past Fado burning more food, and grabs Link's green hoodie of the hook. When she got back to the car, she handed Link the shirt. He takes it and says to her, "Uh, thanks Mid, but why'd you get this?"

"I don't know you don't really look like you without it." Midna turned away from Link to look out the window. Link smiles at her then puts his hoodie back on.

Telma spies Midna and Link in the rearview mirror as she puts her car into first gear. "Guess there getting on a lot better now. Looks like whatever the problem was before wasn't that bad after all." She pulls out of her parking space and down the streets.


	5. New challenges and Old tragedies

Holy crap! How long has it been since I posted something on here. Well, I'm not dead if that's what anyone was thinking. I have had some heavy-duty computer issues and couldn't write for a while, and then when I could write I was so back logged with old and new story ideas I couldn't focus on thing. I had no idea what I was going to finish first or if I was going to finish anything any time so. But finally here it is: The fifth chapter of Urban Legend. Enjoy the unfolding of this epic adventure, and hopefully you won't have to wait to long for it to continue.

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><p><span>Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend<span>

Chapter five: New challenges and Old tragedies 

Zelda was asleep by the time she arrived at Kakariko Village. It was understandable; Kakariko was over a three hour drive from Castle Town. And with all the stuff on her mind anyone would be pretty tired. Auru shook her awake gently, "Zelda? Zelda, wake up my dear."

Zelda's eyes flutter open as she takes in the surrounding area. She yawns and stretches as she asks, "Are we there yet?"

"Yes, we are." Auru steps out of the car and opens Zelda's door. "Welcome to Kakariko Village." Zelda looked around the relatively small town. Small wouldn't actually be the word she would use to describe Kakariko. It was much smaller than Castle Town, but it looked more like a suburb than anything else. "Comfortable" would probably be the best word she could use to describe the mountain town. It was far less busy when compared to Castle Town, and she kinda liked that. Zelda could see herself enjoying the time she was going to be spending in the village.

Zelda's musings about the town were interrupted but a man calling out to them, "Rusl, Sigmund!" They turn to see a dark skinned man wearing very traditional looking robes standing next to a young girl. "It is good to see you again my friends."

"It's good to see you again as well, Renado." Auru says as he shakes his hand.

Rusl shakes his hand as well and turns to Zelda. "This is Renado. Kakariko's resident Shaman. He'll be teaching you how to use your magic."

Zelda turns to Renado and the shaman bows to her. "Welcome to Kakariko Princess. It's is an honor to meet you. This is my daughter Luda." The girl next to him bows to Zelda as well. Zelda nods to both and smiles, "You will be staying with us for the next week here in my Sanctuary as I instruct you in the ways of Magic. Come I shall show you around the village." Zelda and the two other men followed behind Renado and Luda away from the building the shaman had identified as his Sanctuary; which Zelda assumed was also his home.

Zelda was actually surprised by Renado's appearance. When she heard that a shaman would be teaching her magic, she imagined an old mystic living in a hut outside of the village. But Renado was a rather handsome man in his late thirties, probable around the same age as Rusl. Renado took the time to explain the various shops in town and what Zelda might be interested in while she stayed in Kakariko. After the tour of the "Comfortable" town, Renado returned the visitors to his Sanctuary. The inside of the Sanctuary reminded Zelda of Kakariko itself. It was small, but nice. The downstairs was built as a sort of meditation room with a bonfire in the center. "Father and I sleep up stairs. It may not be the newest house in the village…but its home." Luda said as Zelda looked around the circular room.

"The Sanctuary is in fact the oldest building in Kakariko; belonging to all of its leaders, going all the way back to the Great Impa who founded Kakariko." The name of Kakariko's founder struck a chord with Zelda for some reason. It sounded very familiar ever though she never heard the name before. Ordinarily she would have ignored the feeling, but since realizing who she was anything that had to do with the past seemed relevant. She asked Renado, "Excuse me? Did the Great Impa have any connection to the Princess of Destiny?"

"Why, yes she did." He said to her, not at all bothered by the interruption to his tour. "Impa was said to be the attendant to Queen Zelda I."

"Queen Zelda." She said thoughtfully. "So, she helped…"

"…One of your ancestors." Renado finished her question for her with a smile, "Yes. Now if you will follow me, Princess, I will show you the hotel you will be staying in."

"You mean I won't be staying here with you and Luda?" Zelda asked.

Renado, who had already walked to the door of the Sanctuary, looked back at Zelda, "I'm afraid there is not enough room for you here. But be assured the room I have arranged for you is more than accommodating. Luda," The shaman's young daughter stood at attention. "Zelda and I will return in a few minutes. Prepare some tea for us."

"Yes, father." Luda nodded and went off to do as her father told.

Zelda Rusl and Auru followed Renado out of the Sanctuary and to the hotel less than a block away. Zelda looked over the room she will be staying in for the next week. It was a nice room, it had a good view of Death Mountain, and the wall paper wasn't particularly god-awful. It was a nice room, but there were other things on her mind as she looked the hotel room over. This was all so surreal and Zelda was still having a hard time wrapping her head around the last few days. This all started when she met Link; that was when her life turned in to a fantasy novel. She was the heir to a throne that no long existed. She was the reincarnation of a long dead Queen. And she held one-third of an ancient divine relic. The other two pieces of which belong to a guy she couldn't stop thinking about and her Folklore teacher who is currently trying to kill her. It was hard to believe that just a week ago the only thing Zelda really had to worry about was if she could afford the books for all her classes.

"Zelda…?" She looks up towards the door where Rusl and Renado were standing. Zelda had stopped moving and started staring out of a window completely absorbed in her thoughts. "Me and Auru have to get back to Castle Town. Will you be alright here?" She nodded silently, and Rusl nodded back. The two men walked away. Zelda took another look out the window and then left the room herself.

The four of them gathered around Rusl's squad car to say their good byes. Rusl and Auru shook Renado's hand and turned their attention to Zelda. "We're off," Rusl said to the Princess, "We'll be back in a week to take you back to Castle Town. Good luck." He says as he puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Zelda smiles back at him.

"Good luck my dear." Auru says as he kisses Zelda's hand. She blushes slightly but smiles and nods at him too.

The two men drive off and Zelda and Renado walk back into the Sanctuary. When they enter they see Luda had set up three tea cups on a table in the left side of the room. Renado smiles at his daughter, "Thank you, Luda."

"You're welcome father."

As they sat down at the table, Renado said to Zelda, "We will begin your training tomorrow. I think waiting will help you to become acclimated to your new surroundings and give you a chance to prepare yourself mentally. Will that be acceptable, Princess?"

Zelda nodded after taking a sip from her cup, "Uh, yeah. That'll be fine. And you can just call me Zelda." She said with a warm smile on her face. Renado nodded and the three of them enjoyed the moment of tranquility.

* * *

><p>Telma had taken Link Midna and Ashei to an abandoned warehouse not far from where they had their meeting. Ashei had picked the place so as few people as possible would interrupt them. "You do know this is pretty much how every horror movie ever starts, right?" Midna said in her usual sarcastic tone. Link jabs her in the side with his elbow to silence her.<p>

Ashei glared at her before saying, "We need some quite so Link can concentrate. You should consider yourself lucky; me and dad camped out in a cave for two week when he started my training." She added with a smirk.

"Wow, now that's what I call "Father of the Year" material right there." Ashei's glare worsened which Midna returned in full force.

Link, fearing that the two of them might start a fist fight, gets in the middle of them (He will be doing this a lot in the next week) "Uh, so Ashei, wha-what, duh, do you want me to do first?" He asked with a nervous laugh.

"Take a few laps around the building to loosen you up; at least four." Ashei said this while crossing her arms and still staring daggers at Midna.

Midna put her hands on her hips more or less daring the swordswoman to do something. Sensing that something most defiantly would happen should he leave these two alone for any period of time, "Yeah, no problem. Come on Midna." Link grabs the Goth's arm as he tries to leave.

"Link, what are you doing?"

"I think you should run with me. You, uh…you look like you might be putting on a little weight." Midna swiftly kneed Link in the balls sending him to his knees. Ashei did little to cover a snort of amusement from both Link's comment and the repercussions of it. Midna shot Ashei one more dirty look before walking out. Link slowly got back on his feet with his face still contorted in pain. "Ahh, okay. Okay, I deserved that. Midna? Mid?" He looked around still cradling his crotch and didn't see his orange haired friend in sight. "Ah, crap." Exhaling heavily, Link left the warehouse to complete the task Ashei had given him expecting Midna to be out there as well.

Ashei shook her head and muttered to herself, "Pray for me, dad, this ain't gonna be easy." So began Link's training in the art of the sword. And he was not having fun. "This isn't happy fun time, Twigboy. Now get back to work!" That would usually be Ashei's reaction when Link would complain about some exercise he was given and deemed unreasonable. Like running ten miles, working on a heavy bag, lifting weights (And Ashei and Midna would add more weight as he did) and sparing with Ashei.

With only slight variation to the formula, that had basically been Link's life for the past five days. Every muscle in Link's body screamed in pain. More than once Midna had to feed Link his dinner because he either couldn't get off the floor or couldn't move his arms. It was uncomfortable and awkward and neither enjoyed it. As Midna worked the soreness out of Link's arms during his five minute break (The most Ashei ever seemed to give him in between torturous training sessions) Ashei's phone rings. She answers it to find Shad on the other end with more than a fair bit of pride in his usual brogue, "Ashei, Ay've got big news! Is the Hero with yew?"

Ashei looked at Link before answering, "I wouldn't really call him a hero, but yeh the guy Telma and the cop told us about is here." Link just glared at her angry, too tired to do much else.

"Great, put me on speaker. I've got something both of you should hear." Shad relayed over the phone, practically giddy with the news that he has to share.

Ashei took the phone away from her ear and looked at it trying to find whatever button would allow her grant shad his request. She turned the phone over a few times before Midna got fed up and walked over to Ashei and grabbed the phone out of her hand, "Haven't you ever used a phone before?" She asked slightly annoyed.

"I lived in the mountains with my dad for most of my life. Who would I have called if I had one?" Ashei shot back.

Midna rolled her eyes and turned on the speaker function, "Okay, you're on. What's up?"

Shad was quiet for a second, confused by the feminine sounding voice, "Um, ay thought the Hero was a man."

Midna lowered the phone slightly, closed her eyes, and sighed in annoyance. Were all of the people Telma associated with stupid or something? "He is. My name is Midna Moon; I'm Link's friend."

"So Link must be the Hero." Shad cleverly deduced.

"And you must have been in the Ivy League." She countered in a flat tone.

"Why, yes in fact." Shad answered back with a puffed out chest that Midna could very clearly imagine. "Ay was."

Midna rolled her eyes again; not believing that the guy on the phone couldn't tell her comment was submerged in a sea of sarcasm. She threw the phone over her shoulder back to Ashei. Yeah, she was done talking to this person.

Ashei barely managed to catch her phone and ask, "Alright, what is it you wanted to tell us, Shad?"

Midna sat back down and continued trying to bring relief to Link's pained body. (Wow that could be taken in a number of ways) Link on the other hand listened intently to what this Shad guy on the phone was saying as Ashei brought it closer to them. "Well, ay've spent the better part of the last week combing through every book on Hyrulian folklore ay could find to uncover the Dark Lord's identity and discover a way to defeat him…" The line went silent for a moment with only the faint sound of pages turning being audible. Then Shad spoke again, "Ah, there is the usual stuff about him being the wielder of the Triforce of Power and the only Gerudo male, but there's no definitive way to find him. However this is what ay really wanted to tell you." Shad clears his throat before reading a passage from one of his books, "The blessing of Din, the Triforce of Power, gave the Dark Lord strength unlimited and near immortality. It is said that no normal blade can destroy the wielder of Power."

"So this is all pointless," Ashei said, "How do we stop him if normal weapons can't hurt this guy."

"If you would kindly no interrupt me, ay'll tell yew. In nearly every folktale about the Hero and the Dark Lord ay could find they mention a specific weapon. The blade of Evil's bane: The Master sword."

The three of them look at each other, none of them heard of this sword. "What the hell is the Master sword?" Ashei finally asked.

Shad continued his explanation, "According to legend, the Master sword is one of the most powerful weapons in Hyrule's history, and it can only be wielded by the Hero."

"So I find this sword and I can keep Zelda safe?" Link asked, speaking for the first time since Shad called.

Assuming that this new voice was Link, he answered, "Well, hopefully."

Link thought for a minute and no one said anything. Finally, Link stood up, although slowly since he was still in a fair amount of pain, and walked over to Ashei to ask Shad, "Alright, so how do we find it?"

"Ay'm still trying to figure that out. Ay know it's in the Temple of Tyme, ay just don't know where or how to get to it."

"Great." Midna said, "So, what we just sit on our asses until you have your big Eureka moment?"

"No, no. Yew lot have some things to do yerselves. See, finding the Master sword isn't enough. The Hero has to prove that he's worthy of the sword."

"This is going to be a pain in the ass, isn't it?" Midna ask, dreading what Link would have to do to "Prove he's worthy." Whatever the hell that means.

"Well, it won't exactly be easy." He flips through a few pages in his book before continuing, "Ah, here. The legends say that the Master sword will revel itself to the Hero when he gathers the three keys and presents them to the Alter of Tyme."

"Okay so where are the keys?" Link asked

"Ahh…Oh, one is hidden in a Deep forest, another in an ancient forge, and the last is…at the bottom of a lake." Shad gave the location of the last key with clear worry in his voice."

"Did you just say 'the bottom of a lake'!?" Ashei shouted,

"Yep, pain in the ass." Midna threw out.

"That doesn't matter right now. Let's just focus on the first two keys and worry about the third when we get to it." Ashei nodded and Midna just shrugged. Of all the people in the room she had the least invested in this, so she was content with just going along with whatever. Link brought his attention back to Ashei's phone, "Shad, I think I might know where the deep forest is. What do you know about Faron Woods?"

Shad thought about it for a second before answering, "Uh, big, uninhabited, dangerous? Why?"

"I think that might be where the key is."

Shad was silent for another minute while going through some of his books. "There are a number story's connected to that area. And there is the obvious association with Farore. Link, was it? I think yew might be on to something."

"Thanks." Link said with a wide goofy grin.

"Alright, we'll head out for the woods as soon as possible. Thanks for the info Shad." Ashei told the researcher.

"No problem. Good Luck!" And with that Shad hung up.

"Well at least we have chance to see if all this training is worth it. I could use a change of scenery anyway." Link said after Shad hung up.

"Same here, I am bored out of my mind." Midna says walking up to Link and Ashei, "But how are we getting to Faron?"

"Can't we just rent a car?"

"With what money? Between the three of us we have a grand total of twenty Rupees."

"That's not good." Link said scratching the back of his head. He thought about their options until he finally thought of a rather obvious answer, "Telma! We can just ask Telma if we can borrow her car."

"Are you Insane!? Telma will never let us borrow her car."

"Why not? If it'll help you take this Dark Lord guy down, wouldn't she give you just about anything you'd need?" Ashei ask slightly confused by Midna's outburst.

"Actually," Link began, "Now, that I think about it, Mid's kinda got a point. That car is Telma's pride and joy. She never lets anyone drive it but her."

"Are you serious?"

"Oh yeah. There was another guy who worked at the dinner when Link and I first started. Some Ginger jackass named Mido. He scratched Telma's car by accident one day and she fired him on the spot. Hero or not there's no way Telma will let that red monster out of her sight."

"Fan-friggin-tastic." Ashei said, very annoyed by their situation. "Well what the hell do we do now?"

Midna though for a second, then got a mischievous smile on her face as she said, "Y'know, I think I got an idea. Wait here for about two hours or less. But probably less." And with that she ran out of the warehouse leaving Link and Ashei with two very confused looks.

As she said, Midna returned about an hour and twenty minutes later, driving up in a flower delivery van. When she got out Link blurted out, "Where the fuck did you get this!?"

"Do you really what to know?" She answered with a smirk.

Link looked at her for minute before putting his hands up and saying, "Y'know what? No. I really don't. Let's just get going before we get arrested." The three of them piled in to the van and Midna drove off.

Link knew first hand that Hyrule's Southern provinces were half a day's drive, giving him time to heal from the soreness. About halfway to Faron Link started rubbing his bicep, noticing that the soreness was nearly gone. "You okay Link?" Midna asked noticing his movements.

"Yeah no problem. I'm feeling pretty good."

"Really? You sure? I mean, could barely move this morning."

"I know it's pretty much because of this that I'm feeling as good as I am." Link said as he lifted his left hand, indicating he meant his Triforce piece.

Midna glances at his hand before looking back at the road. "So that thing heals you too. Pretty hand those divine artifacts."

Link chuckled slightly from Midna's comment,"Yeah," and then removed his glove to look at the Triforce mark. "Guess it is. This thing healed me after my fight with Zant while I slept. Well at least the smaller cuts and bruises. That big gash on my side was too much for it I guess." Link just noticed it for a second, but Midna visually tensed when he brought up Zant again.

Link had tried several times since his training started to get Midna to talk about Zant. But nothing seemed to work. Still he had to try; he could tell that something about Zant was eating at her. "Hey, Mid…I know you said you didn't want to talk-"

"And what a surprise I still don't." She said bitterly.

Link sighed, disappointed that his friend was still being so closed off. But he once resolved to tie Midna to a chair and make her talk to him. He didn't have any rope, but he was pretty sure Midna wasn't willing to jump out of a moving car just to avoid talking. "Midna look, I don't what about Zant is bugging you, but you can talk to me about it."

Midna just gripped the steering wheel tighter, "I don't want-"

"I know! You don't want to talk. But did you ever think that it might be good for you to let some of this out. You can't just stay bottled up all the time; it's not health." Midna continued to stare at the road before her, and Link wasn't sure if she had turned him out of if she was just taking everything he said in. Either way, Link placed a hand on Midna's shoulder and continued, "I'm your friend, Mid. You can tell me anything." Midna looked at Link with a saddened expression before looking back at the road. She parted her lips as if wanting to say something, but stopped and looked at the rear view mirror. Knowing why she would do this he looked at Ashei then back at Midna with an amused smirk, "Don't worry she's asleep. It's just you and me."

Midna was quite for a minute before taking a deep breath. "Zant is…my brother." Link leaned back in his seat and nodded slowly. It wasn't really that surprising. They did look alike a fair bit, and them being siblings had popped in and out of his mind ever since he suspected a relationship between the two. "Well, technically he's my half-brother. See, he was born like, three years before me. His mom was…she died, when Zant was still a baby. I don't know what happened exactly. Jerik, our dad, doesn't like to talk about it."

"Must run in the family." Link interjected.

Midna glared at Link to which he simply shrugged. She smiled slightly, also seeing the similarities, but not linking them. "Anyway, like I said," She continued, "I don't really know what happened, but I think she might have died protecting Zant from…something…or maybe she died during child birth, I don't know. Either way, I think because of it he blamed Zant for her death. Jerik got re-married a couple years later; after he knocked my mom up. I still don't understand what mom saw in him. Actually, I do. Jerik was someone really high up. A councilman or something I don't care. She wanted an easier life. I can understand that I guess."

"You make it sound like it was so terrible that they got together." Midna didn't say anything. "I mean, if they didn't you wouldn't be here. That's a good thing." She remained silent. "Right?" Link suddenly became very unsure of whether or not he actually wanted Midna to continue. He learned what he wanted to, Zant is her brother. Mystery solved. But this wasn't about his own curiosity anymore. It was about Midna. Whatever it was that Midna was going through when they first met, what she's talking about now was the root of that problem.

"I'm glad…I'm here. With you…and Telma…and even Fado's mentally deficient ass. I'm glad to be alive, if that's what you mean." It was, "I just…have mixed feelings about my family. One hand, I think mom should have just taken me and left Jerik's ass. But, if she had…then Zant would have been left alone…with him." Midna's voice suddenly became very dark and her face transformed into an intense scowl.

She took a moment to collect herself before continuing, "Like I said, Jerik blamed Zant for what happened to his first wife. Everyone in our community knew him as this 'Good natured, upstanding public servant'." Midna talked in a faux proper accent that did little to hide the venom behind her words. "While in privet, he beat his son for taking too long to bring him his sixth beer of the night."

"Oh," Link couldn't think of anything else to say as this information registered in his mind. Midna seemed to be trying to calm herself again so Link asked, "Uh, what about you mom? Didn't she try to say something to stop him?"

Midna scoffed as her anger towards her father was replaced by what he could describe as amused disappointment, "And mess things up with her meal ticket? No." Her expression suddenly became very sad, "No, she just told me not to interfere. She wanted to at least keep me safe. Can't fault her for that. But I just couldn't stand it. So, one night when I was ten I threw an empty beer bottle at his head and dragged Zant into my room. From that point on guess who he beat for not getting his friends beer?"

"Man, that's pretty messed up."

"Yeah. So when I was sixteen, I decided we weren't going to be his punching bags anymore."

* * *

><p>Midna silently walked down the hall and pressed her ear to the door of her mother and father's room to check and make sure they were asleep. Thankfully, Jarik snored like a rusty buzz-saw and it was easy to confirm she had the all clear to follow through with her plan. She snuck into Zant's room next and placed her hand over his mouth, simultaneously waking him up and keeping him from shouting. The siblings' burning orange eyes met as Midna gave him the shush gesture to indicate she didn't want him to be too loud. When she pulled her hand away, she said to him, "Get dressed, quickly and quietly. And pack some things. Clothes, books, anything you think you might need for the next few days. We'll raid the fridge before we leave so we'll have something to eat."<p>

Wait, Midna what are you talking about? Where are we going?" Zant asked as he got out of bed.

Midna walked over to his closet and tossed him a shirt and a pair of jeans as she said, "We're leaving, just the two of us. I can't stay in this house anymore. And I can just leave you here. So we're going. Now hurry and get dressed." She grabbed a few more of Zant's clothes and threw them in a trash bag she brought with her. While hesitant at first, Zant complied and stripped down to his underwear. As he was about to take them off, Midna threw a shoe at him saying, "Whoa, leave those on I don't wanna see your junk!"

Zant got dressed and asked, "Midna what are we doing?"

"I told you, we're leaving. Now come on." Midna grabbed Zant's arm and tried to pull him to the door, but he slipped his hand out of her grasp.

She turned to ask what he's doing and yelled as quietly as possible, "What am I doing? Midna, if dad finds out we tried to run away he'd…I don't even know what he'd do. Be it'd be very, very painful I do know that."

"He's not going to find us!" Zant shuffles slightly unsure what to do with himself. Midna's expression softens and walks over to her brother and takes him by the shoulders. "Zant, look. We. Cannot. Stay here. Jarik's not going to find us, trust me."

"How can you be so sure?"

Midna hugs Zant tightly, "Because I'm your sister. That's how." Zant hugs her back and they stay like that for a moment. When they finally separate Midna says, "Get your stuff. Mine is already down stairs." Zant nodded and the two quietly exited the room, down the stairs, and out the door, determined to never return.

* * *

><p>"So, how were you so sure your dad wouldn't find you?" Link asked.<p>

"Because me and Zant aren't from Hyrule. I doubt he'd even think to look here."

"Oh, you're from another country. Well that makes sense. I don't think anyone else in Hyrule looks you or Zant."

"It wasn't easy getting to Hyrule. But once we were here we made a promise to always take care of each other. We struggled, but we were so much happier than before." Midna's fiery eyes gleamed as she talked of the few happy moments in her life with her brother.

Link was smiling because of the bright look on the otherwise sour Goth girl's face, but then he remembered the Zant that he knew and fought. "Mid, what happened to Zant after you two came to Hyrule?"

The light in Midna's eyes suddenly dimmed, she knew she couldn't dwell on the good. She had to go into the bad. "We were in Hyrule for two years. We had a comfortable life. I got a GED. I even thought about going to college. Zant just wanted me to be happy. After all the misery we'd gone through, he wanted to pay me back for all the times I stood up for him against Jerik." Midna started to tear up as she came closer to the pain she had been carrying for the past year. She put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from sobbing openly. After taking a moment to collect herself, "I didn't really notice until it was too late. He started bringing in more money; a lot more than his job offered him. And he started being more distant. Then one night he came home…With a gunshot wound."

Midna took another moment before continuing. Link placed an understanding hand on her shoulder, silently telling her to take her time. "He told me to clean the wound for him. I said, 'Shouldn't we go to the hospital?' And he just…he just…I don't know. He started rambling about how everything he did he did for me and how I should be grateful." At this time Midna pulled over to the side of the road and placed her head on the steering wheel as she felt herself becoming over whelmed.

"Midna, maybe you should stop. You don't have to keep going."

"What are you talking about Twigboy?" Ashei said as she woke up noticing they aren't anywhere near the forest. "Why'd we stop? We got stuff to do. Come on let's go." As she was berating the two for wasting time Ashei realized that Midna was just barely keeping herself from crying. "Uh, did I miss something?" She asked Link.

Link looked at Midna's fragile form as she was quickly losing her war against her emotions and the memories of her past. "Ashei, do you think you can wait outside for a few minutes?"

Ashei snapped her head to glare at Link indignantly. "What? Why should I have to-"

"Ashei, please." Link interrupted her tirade, pretty much begging her to give them some time alone.

Ashei looked into Link's eyes and for the first time since she met him could see something in him other than a puny skate rat. Then she looked at Midna in the driver's seat. She may not have liked the Goth, but she couldn't stand to see someone suffer like she obviously was. She nodded silently and got out of the van.

Once the swordswoman was gone, Link turned to Midna again, "Alright look, Mid, I meant what I said. You can just stop here. I don't need to know any more."

Midna stayed in her slumped position, quietly sobbing, until she sat back up, sniffed a few time and said, "No. *Sniff* No. you were right. I need to get this off my chest." Link nodded and leaded back in his seat waiting until Midna was up to continuing. She took a deep breath and fell back into her own seat, "After that, things just kept getting worse. He started lashing out and me, disappearing all day. He never came back with any serious injuries again, but he did get arrested more than once. I always bailed him out. I had to; he's my brother, y'know?" Then one day…he just…left. All his stuff was gone; there was no note, no phone call, nothing. Eventually I got so scared I actually went to the morgue to see if he ended up there. Obviously he didn't. But that's when I met you, Link." She look at her friend with tears streaming down her face. "Sitting in the waiting room with your head down after the accident."

It was surreal for Link to see Midna like this. For the year he's known her he had never seen her cry. Not even in sad movies Anju or Kafei would make them watch. In fact she'd usually mock anyone who did actually cry. She must have built some serious defenses for her to just break down like this. Link got out of his seat and pulled Midna into a tight hug. Midna started crying openly, burying her face in the crook of Link's neck as he gently rubbed her back telling to cry as much as she needs. They were sitting on their knees in between the driver and passenger seats just holding each other as Midna lets a year's worth of grief flood out. After a few minutes Link started thinking out loud, "Y'know, when we first met…There was something that I always wondered about. After I spilled my guts out to you about Marin and everything, I asked if you needed to talk about something. You looked so miserable that day. But you just said that all you needed was for someone to care about you. This is what you meant, isn't it?" Midna nodded silently. "Your parents, well, weren't really parents. And you brother the only person in existence you felt a real connection to just up and left. You were alone in the world. You need someone, anyone to be with you."

"Yeah, that's about it. Thank you so much for being that person, Link." They stayed in a tight embrace for a few more minutes. Finally Midna pulled away, wiped a few tears from her eyes, and said to Link, "I think I'm okay now."

"How are you feeling?"

"Drained. But, you were right. I do feel a little better." She sniffed, taking a second to try and collect herself, and then she saw that a lot of her mascara was now on Link's shirt, "Man I must look like a friggin raccoon right now."

"A little." Link said with a smile.

Midna smiled back and gave Link one more quick hug. "Alright, Get Ashei so we can keep going." She said as she got up and sat back in the driver's seat, "Oh and Link?" He looked at her just as he was settling in his seat, "If you tell anyone about this I'll shove you balls down your throat." She delivered her threat with little to no malice in her voice and a casual inflection that, in a strange way, made it more frightening.

Link looked at Midna with a terrified expression. He wasn't sure if she could make good on her threat, but he figured better safe than castrated. He rolled down the passenger window and called out to Ashei who was leading against a nearby tree. "Hey Ash-" His voice was cracked slightly out of fear, but he cleared his throat and tried again, "Hey Ashei, we're done talking. You can get in now."

Ashei, very clearly annoyed by the impromptu diversion, climbed back into the back of the van. When she had herself settled, Midna drove off towards Faron Woods again. "So, you guys gonna tell me what that was all about?"

Link looked over to Midna and she just gave him a sideways glance. He snapped his head forward and blurted out, "Nope!" The remaining drive was in complete silence.

* * *

><p>By the time they arrived in Faron province it was nearly night fall. Ashei and Link spent their last twenty rupees on gas for their return trip while Midna went into the bathroom to clean herself up. While they waited for the gas tank to fill, Ashei asked Link, "What was up with Midna?"<p>

Link looked at her somewhat surprised, "Heh didn't know you cared."

"I don't. I just don't want some emotionally unstable in the middle of a dark forest. Isn't that what happens in a lot of horror movies too?" She countered defensively.

'Wow, she held on to that one.' Link thought, "She fine. I just…kinda helped her knock down a wall with a lot behind it." Ashei wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but he didn't want to tell her it was obviously something personal between them. Midna came out of the bathroom clear of the black marks on her face. Link walked up to her and asked, "You ready to move on?" Midna hesitated to nod not entirely sure in which sense of "moving on" she was ready for. "Alright then. Let get going." Ashei and Midna both made their way back to the van when Link stopped them. "Uh yeah, we're not taking the van."

They both look back at him confused, "What do you mean we're not taking the van?" Midna asked.

"We're walking from here." And with that he took off down the road.

The two girls walked behind him as he seemed to know what he was doing. Ashei asked, "Is there a particular reason we're not using the stolen van to drive through the dark, dangerous, unknown forest filled with all kinds of wild animals and Din knows what else?"

"Two reasons: One, the entrance to the Faron Woods is not a mile away from here. And two, the van wouldn't have fit even if we had brought it." Ashei and Midna continued to walk behind Link exchanging confused looks.

Although the confusion cleared up when they came to a cave mouth that Link identified as the way into Faron Woods. "Okay, I see your point." Ashei said realizing what Link meant. With his usual goofy lopsided grin plastered on Link's face, the three of them entered the cave that would hopefully take them to the first key, whatever it was.

* * *

><p>Very emotional this chapter. Originally I was going to put a little more information in to Link and Midna's talk like Zant being mentally unstable, that they lived in the Twilight Realm, and the fact that, like Zant, Midna also has magic. But I couldn't figure out a way to put those things in without fucking up the flow of the narrative. Because nothing kills pacing like forced exposition. Also I originally wanted Link, Midna, and Ashei to go through Faron during this chapter but realized that with everything I wanted to do with Faron it would have been really friggin long, so I just cut it off at them entering Faron Woods. Okay that's about it for my rambling, thanks for anyone who is reading the next chapter will be up as soon as possible, in the mean time why don't you leave a review or Favorite this shit. Come on it'll be fun.<p> 


	6. The Forest

Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend

Chapter six: The forest

The pitch black cave gave way to a misty wooded area. Night was falling by the time Link, Midna, Ashei made it to what appeared to be a dock that stopped over a thick fog bank leading farther into the forest. Looking around quickly, Ashei realized that they would end up completely lost if they tried to go any further in the dark.

"So do either of you have a flashlight or torch or something?"

"Actually, I bought these at the gas station while Mid was in the bathroom. Figured we'd need 'em." Link pulled three mini-flashlights out of the kangaroo pouch of his green hoodie and handed two of them to Midna and Ashei.

"Huh. That's pretty good forward thinking, Twigboy," Ashei said.

"Yeah, not bad Link."

"Y'know, you guys don't have to sound so surprised," Link said, clearly annoyed by the apparent lack of faith the two girls had in him. They turned on the flashlights and headed into the fog bank.

When they got further into the fog bank, Ashei exclaimed, "Everyone hold hands."

"Aw, is lil' Ashei afwaid?" Midna mocked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am; afraid that we'll all get split up and eaten by a wild animal."

"Well, okay then, I vote for us holding hands," Midna conceded, becoming readily aware of just how dangerous Faron seemed at night. The three of them linked hands and continued their trek through the mist filled woods. After finding a number of dead ends, they came to the conclusion that they were totally lost. They even ended up back at the dock they started at more than once.

After hitting another dead end, Link finally said, "Okay, we really need to figure something out, 'cause I have a feeling these batteries aren't going to last too long."

"And what exactly should we do?" Ashei asked. "This fog is so thick there's no way for us to see where the hell we're going."

Just as Link was about say something, he heard something. Turning in the direction the sound came from, he quickly asked, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Midna asked, looking around.

Link, being Hylian, had much sharper hearing than either Midna or Ashei. He was sure he heard something, but didn't know what. "I don't know. I think something might be watching us."

Looking around, Ashei drew her sword to defend herself from whatever might be out there. Link drew his sword as well - just in case what he was hearing wasn't his imagination.

Midna noticed her companions arming themselves, and she couldn't help but notice she didn't have anything to fight whatever it was off with. "Uh, guys. I don't have a weapon. I'm ser - all I have is a flashlight! I don't…can't I have like a knife or something?"

"Let's just keep going. Midna, stay in-between me and Ashei. We'll protect you."

Midna fell in line behind Link but ahead of Ashei, just as Link told her to, but not without muttering "my big fat hero" under her breath.

They continued onward for a while, still hopelessly lost. None of them heard anything that sounded like an animal or anything stalking them; it didn't cause any of them to drop their guard, however. After passing a large tree, Link and Midna heard Ashei quickly cry out in surprise, but then silence. They turned around to see the swordswoman missing.

"Link? Where'd Ashei go?"

"Um…Bathroom break?" he answered very uneasily. He started scanning the area to try and see what could have taken her. "The thing I heard earlier might have gotten Ashei. We have to keep an eye out for whatever it was. And we definitely have to stay together." He then turned around to see that Midna was now gone as well.

"And now I'm alone." Link pointed his flashlight up into the trees to see if he could find any trace of Midna, Ashei, or whatever it was that took them. Like earlier, he heard something run past him from behind, and what could swore he could hear was a little kid laughing. He whipped around, taking a swing with his sword but only hitting air. He looked again but was hit in the back of the head and rendered unconscious.

* * *

><p>"Link!"<p>

Zelda shot up from her bed, panting heavily. She hadn't had an odd dream like this since she first saw Ganondorf.

But it wasn't like her last dream. That, and the strange vision she had in Officer Rusl's squad car were more like long lost memories. This last dream was…different. It was about Link (nothing new, if she had to be honest), but he was with the orange haired girl she'd seen in the diner and another girl she didn't recognize. She got out of bed, put something on over her nightgown, and made her way to the Sanctuary.

It was the middle of the night, around two or three in the morning. Zelda hadn't bothered to look at the time when she left her room. Kakariko was completely silent; the only thing that she could hear was the sound of a few crows that flew overhead. She knocked on the Sanctuary door and brought her coat closer to her body to guard against the cold wind as she waited for Renado. The shaman opened the door, surprised to see Zelda standing there, looking very cold.

"Zelda, what are you doing here? Come inside out of the cold, child." Zelda entered the Sanctuary and welcomed the warmth of the bonfire that always seemed to be lit. "What brings you here at this late hour?"

"Um, sorry for waking you so late. I just kind of, uh…well…"

"You had a dream, didn't you?" Renado finished her sentence, sure of what she was trying to say.

She nodded silently before speaking, "How did you know?"

"I had heard stories about the Princess's abilities of foresight. I wondered if you had such ability, but you hadn't said anything about it."

"I wanted to bring it up the day I got here, but I wasn't sure if you could help me," she said sheepishly, feeling rather stupid for not saying anything about her dreams.

"Tell me about these dreams, Zelda. I will help find meaning in them." Renado gestured for Zelda to sit near the bonfire, possibly to help her warm up.

She started off by telling him about the dream she had about Ganondorf invading her throne room, then the vision of her as a child riding through a destroyed Castle Town with the ninja woman.

"I would suspect that these dreams were memories of your ancestors - other bearers of the crest of Wisdom. You say the vision of the child evading the dark rider came as you were fleeing your college, yes?"

Zelda nodded in confirmation.

"Then it would seem the Triforce reacted to the situation, as it was reminded of an incident that one of your predecessors had encountered. Now this latest dream…"

"Link and the two girls he was with were going through some forest. It was dark, and they couldn't see anything. They were attacked by something, taken somewhere, but I couldn't see where it was. Then I saw Link fighting…someone or something. He was hurt, I think. That's when I woke up." Zelda went silent after giving the details of her most recent dream, wondering if the shaman could help her figure out what it meant. "Well…?"

Renado closed his eyes contemplatively. Finally, he said to the Princess, "What you described… I believe it to be a prophecy of the future. The Hero, Link, will or is currently facing some kind of danger."

Zelda's eyes widened in fear. Link was in trouble. She shot to her feet and yelled, "We have to help Link! We have to do something!"

"And what would you have me do, Zelda?" Renado asked calmly. "Your premonition did not tell us where Link and his companions are or how we can find him."

"Yeah but… I mean… we… can…" Zelda quickly deflated, as she couldn't think of a way to actually help Link.

She had suceeded, however, in being loud enough to wake Luda up. She came down the stairs to see what was happening.

"Father? Is everything alright? Oh, hi Zelda. What are you doing here?"

Zelda was able to calm herself down before answering her. "I just needed to ask your father about something. Sorry to wake you, Luda."

"Zelda and I have some things to discuss still. Go back to bed. I'll be up shortly."

Luda yawned as she started back upstairs. "Alright, see you tomorrow, Zelda. Or today, I guess."

Once Luda was out of the room, Renado was about to say something but Zelda interrupted, "I'm really tired now."

Renado eyed the young princess carefully. "Zelda, I know you worry about Link. But I am afraid there is nothing we can do for him now, save pray that the Goddesses watch over and protect him."

Zelda nodded, seeing there really was nothing she could do. Renado stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder to walk her to the door. "Get some rest, child. We will continue your training tomorrow."

"Can you help me with this… psychic vision thing?"

"No, unfortunately," the shaman answered sadly. "Unlike divination, foresight is an ability that can be difficult to teach if you yourself do not possess it, and I do not. I am afraid that you may have to master this skill on your own."

"Oh," she said, becoming downcast as the reason she agreed to this training wasn't an option. "Thanks anyway. And thank you for helping me understand my dreams."

Renado nodded to her and gave a warm smile. "It is no trouble, Zelda. If you have any other premonitions, do not hesitate to tell me about them, even after our time together is over."

Zelda nodded to him and left the Sanctuary. She bundled herself up as a cold wind overcame her during her walk back to the hotel. Something stuck in her mind as she strolled through the empty streets - Renado said that she was worried about Link.

Well, yeah, with a dream like she had… Link was in trouble; of course she'd be worried about him. Although, the level of worry was somewhat odd… The very thought of Link being in danger caused her heart to ache. Why did he elicit such a strong reaction in her? They had only known each other for a week, and they hadn't even spoken to each other in the past five days. It didn't make sense that this one guy would occupy such a large portion of her attention, even if they were meant to face Professor Dragmire together, and he had a really cute smile, and was kind, and brave, and funny, and had a nice firm…

"Stop that!" she told herself.

Once back in her hotel room, Zelda took off her coat and shoes and climbed into bed. She didn't fall back asleep right away. She stayed up, looking at the ceiling. Zelda was never one to believe in something like "love at first sight"; the idea of just falling for someone after meeting them once seemed like the kind of cheesy schlock one would find in a trashy romance novel. Y'know, the kind with a pirate captain kidnapping and at some point screwing a governor's daughter or something like that. She hated books like that. They were stupid and unrealistic. People don't just fall in love and devote themselves to each other within five minutes of meeting.

But if that wasn't true, then what was happening between her and Link?

* * *

><p>Link's head was swimming when he regained consciousness. He groaned and placed a hand on his head and tried to figure out what the hell happened. He tried to sit up on whatever it was he was lying on but was pushed into the wall by something. His eyes popped open to find…A small child holding a spear?<p>

"You really don't want to move."

"Um, what's going on?" he asked the boy. Instead of answering, the boy just turned his spear around and pointed the tip at his jugular.

"Okay, okay! Not moving!" Link said, putting his hands up in way to say he surrendered. The boy took the spear away from his neck and backed away, but kept his weapon and his eyes trained on him. Link relaxed slightly, at least happy that this kid wasn't about to stab him in the throat, but he couldn't help but feel just a little stupid about the situation.

'Great, captured by a ten-year-old. Some Hero I am,' he thought, looking at the small, brown haired boy. He looked around and saw that they were in a hut that looked like it was made out of a hollowed out tree trunk. He was sitting on a small bed, that was actually more comfortable than you might think, and the rest of the hut was decorated with different hunting equipment and dead game.

Then he looked back at the kid, who had yet to lower his guard. He looked to be in good shape for a kid; he was definitely a hunter, although it still struck him as odd why a little kid would be out in the middle of the woods like this. The boy's hair came down over his face, obscuring his eyes, and it looked like his teeth were filed down to points. He was also wearing a slightly tattered green tunic that Link assumed was so he could blend in better with the trees. And there was a small, reddish ball of light with wings floating near him. Weird. He figured this kid was the one that had been stalking them through the woods, but there was no way a little kid could drag away Ashei and Midna—

"Ashei, Midna!" he yelled, having just remembered his two companions that were still missing.

The kid, clearly surprised by his outburst, lunged forward with his spear, just barely missing Link's heart. He bounded off the bed and reached for his back only to realize his sword was gone.

"Crap." The boy tried to stab Link again, but he grabbed the spear and attempted to take it from his grasp. The boy jumped up and kicked Link into a shelf. He rubbed the back of his head and looked up to see the boy about to stab him again. He ducked and kicked the boy in the stomach, sending him flying back. He landed and coughed a few times, a result of having the wind knocked out of him. Link got to his feet and said to him, "Look, I don't know what's going on, but I just want to find Midna and Ashei."

"Who?" the boy asked.

"The two girls I came here with. You took them too, didn't you?"

"That's none of your business!" the boy yelled as he threw his spear at Link. He side-stepped, and it embedded itself into the wall. The boy rushed Link to get his weapon back, but Link grabbed it first, swung it baseball style, and hit the boy with the butt of the spear into a wall. The boy was still conscious, but winded, giving Link the time to escape.

"Sorry about that, kid, but something tells me you needed a good spanking," he taunted as he left the wooden hut-

Only to be confronted by a large group of children also wearing green clothing and accompanied by floating balls of light. The kids were all brandishing spears, bows and arrows, and various other weapons made of stone, wood, and bone. Link backed away from the children and bumped into the boy he had knocked down only a minute ago. He grabbed his spear back and joined the other kids, grinning at him and more or less saying, "You're right fucked now."

Just as the kids started advancing on Link, a small but surprisingly authoritative voice commanded them to stand down. A little girl with bright green hair and a dress of the same color waded through the mob of little people and stopped right in front of Link to address the others.

"What did I tell you guys when you brought them in? When they wake up come get me. What happened?" the question was directed at the boy that was guarding Link when he woke up, and he looked visibly worried about making the green-haired girl angry.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault! He beat me up!" he pointed at Link accusingly.

"You pointed a spear at my throat. I'm sorry, but I tend to get a little aggressive when someone tries to give me a tracheotomy without my permission!" The green haired girl, apparently the leader of the kids, looked at the boy with a hard glare. He just shrugged his shoulders and gave her a nervous smile.

The girl shook her head and looked at Link. "Come with me. Your friends are awake, and I'd like to talk to all of you about what you're doing in this forest."

The girl held out her hand, and Link hesitantly took it. The other kids around quickly dispersed, many muttering under their breaths. The green haired girl led Link through the primitive village that appeared to be made up of only kids. Like the hut he woke up in, all the other houses were made of huge tree trunks.

Before Link could ask the girl any questions, she stopped in front of one and told him his friends were inside. When Link entered the hut and saw the two girls, he immediately threw his arms around the Goth, and Midna returned the hug in full. When he hugged Ashei, he got a scatching "What the hell are you doing?"

Link backed off and gave a nervous chuckle. The three then put their full focus on the green haired girl that brought Link. "I'm glad you to see you all up and alert."

"Then maybe you can finally tell us how we ended up here?" Ashei said accusingly.

The girl looked to the side, embarrassed, a clear blush on her face. "Uh, yeah…that was the others. We have a rule that no one from the outside can stay here. Usually when someone comes to our forest, we just take them back to the entrance of Faron."

"So what happened this time?" Midna asked as she sat down on the bed along with Link.

The girl's face darkened, seemingly reflecting on something. "Strange things have been happening in the forest lately. It's been affecting us; making many of us more aggressive." She looked up at Link. "When I found out what they did, I was going to tell the others to take you back to the forest entrance like we always do. But then I saw the mark on your hand." Link looked down, noticing for the first time that his left glove was missing, and he could clearly see the Triforce mark. "You are the Great Hero, aren't you?" she asked with a hint of hope and something else in her voice.

"Uh, yeah, I am. How do you know about that?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Saria, and I'm the Sage of the Forest. I actually knew the Hero of Time, one of the earliest Heroes."

The three looked at each other, confused, until Ashei asked, "How is that possible? You're, like, five."

Saria put her hands on her hips defiantly. "I'll have you know that I'm over fifteen hundred years old."

Midna cocked an eyebrow at this. "Well, you don't look a day over five hundred to me."

Saria smiled at that.

"You're the Kokiri, aren't you?" Link suddenly asked. Again, Saria smiled and nodded.

"What's a Kokiri?" Midna asked. "And how do you know what it is?"

"I used to live in the next providence over, Ordona. All the old folks used to tell us kids stories about Faron Woods. Mostly how we should never come here or else we'd turn into Skull Kids. But one other story they'd always tell us about the Kokiri." He gestured to Saria. "The Kokiri are forest spirits who look like children, and they never grow up. The older people sometimes called them fairy children, for, well, obvious reasons," he explained, pointing at the ball of light with wings.

"So that thing's a fairy?" Midna asked.

"Yeah, this is Rael. He's been my most loyal companion for centuries." Saria hugged her fairy, eliciting small, happy tinkling noises from it.

Ashei stared at the forest child and her fairy friend, then looked over at Link before saying, "Y'know, in the last week, I found out that my dad's crazy stories about the Triforce are real, magic is apparently real, and now I find out that eternally ten-year-old forest spirits and fairies are real." She stood up and started to walk out of the hut. "I'm sorry, but I think I just need some time to go over all this in my head. Those other kids won't shoot me in the face with an arrow if I just walk around for a little bit, will they?" Her question was clearly directed at Saria.

"Um, no. I told them that you were our guests. So there shouldn't be any problem, I think."

Ashei nodded to her and walked out.

"Is she going to be okay?" Saria asked.

Link and Midna looked at each other as if to ask the other the same question. Midna just shrugged, so Link told her, "I think she's just trying to figure all this out. It's been a weird couple of days for all of us."

Saria nodded, seemingly understanding Ashei wariness. "Link, I know why you came here. You want the key to the Master sword, right?"

"Right, exactly. Can you give it to us?"

Saria shook her head. "No, I can't. But the Great Deku Tree can."

"The Great Deku Tree?" Link and Midna asked in unison, equally confused about how a tree could help them.

"Yes, come with me. I'll introduce you."

Link looked at Midna, and she gives him an unsure shrug before gesturing to follow the Kokiri sage. He followed Saria out of the hut and through the Kokiri village. He took this time to observe how the children's community functioned. The Kokiri village seemed no different than his home town, Ordon. The people grew and harvested food. There was a small farm in the south of the village; there even seemed to be a craftsman Kokiri. The only real difference between the Kokiri village and Ordon was that there were no adults here except him, Midna and Ashei. Speaking of Ashei, Link managed to see her on a bluff overlooking the entire village, most likely still deep in thought.

While walking through the village, Link said, "Saria, can I ask you something?"

The forest child nodded, looking up at him.

"You said that you knew one of the other Heroes. Can you tell me what he was like?"

Saria's face turned a tint of red that caused a stark contrast with the green that made up most of her appearance. "Uh, well… Like I said, I knew him. He actually used to live in this forest. He was raised as a Kokiri, but he was really a Hylian. I always knew something was different about him. And I knew that because of it, he would leave the forest one day. And when he did…" Saria trailed off, as if continuing was the most painful thing in the world.

"It sounds like you were really close to him," Link said as he placed a hand on her back.

Link's touch sent a shiver up Saria's spine as it reminded her of the Hero of Time, and how he would comfort her when the pressures of leading the Kokiri would weigh heavy on her. "Y-yeah, we were. Very close. After the Dark Lord took over, I didn't see him again for seven years. He grew up, but obviously, I didn't. It was the one time in all the centuries I've been alive that I wished… uh… n-never mind."

"What? What'd you wish for?"

"Um, nothing important. Well anyway, when he did come back, that was when I realized I was the Forest Sage, and I helped him and the Princess defeat the Dark Lord. I still think about him every now and then. He was very kind and caring. He always tried to help everyone with whatever. He was quiet and not all that smart to be honest. He'd do a lot of really stupid things sometimes, but… I could always talk to him about pretty much anything. I really missed that after he left."

Link thought for a second before saying anything back, "Well, maybe I can be your friend."

Saria looked at the Hero re-born and could only see the boy she had known so many years ago. "I mean, I am the Hero's great, great…however many great grandson. Figure I'd be the next best thing," he said with his usual goofy, lopsided grin. The exact same grin that the Hero of Time had.

Saria's face was suddenly branded red again, and she turned away from Link to hide it. "Uh, yeah, that would be good. Thanks."

Once they came to the northernmost part of the village, Saria identified the narrow passage as the way to the Great Deku Tree. Once in the Deku Tree's glen, Link was awestruck by its size and majesty. He had never seen a tree this huge before, and on the front of the tree looked to be a face. Saria bowed before the tree, and not sure what he should be doing, Link did the same.

Then something Link never would have expected happened - the face he noticed began to move. It began working out what appeared to be its mouth and then spoke, "Saria, I see you have a new girlfriend. She is way too old for you. Someone call Chris Hansen!"

Link was in complete shock. The giant tree was talking! "Did the tree… just…Wait, how does it know who Chris Hansen is?" (Author's note: I'll try to avoid make references to real world celebrities in this story, but I just couldn't resist this one.)

"Spirit Hulu," the tree answered curtly.

"Spirit Hu…Is that a thing? That-that doesn't sound like a thing."

"I am able to connect to the internet through my roots. Have you seen Rule 34? That's some messed up stuff, man."

Link continued to stare at the Great Tree in utter confusion.

Saria stepped forward. "Great Deku Tree, this isn't my girlfriend. This is Link; he holds the Triforce of Courage."

"I see," the Great Tree said. "So the Great Hero has indeed been reborn. Don't feel bad about the whole girlfriend thing. None of your predecessors were all that masculine either."

Link looked around quickly. "Is this some stupid hidden camera show or something?"

"Great Deku Tree, Link came here to find the key to the Master Sword so he may defeat the Dark Lord."

"Ah, yes. The key. I once entrusted the key to the Hero of Time during his quest to save Hyrule. Now it seems I must play this part again. But before I can bestow the blessing of Farore upon you Hero, you must first prove that you are in fact, the Hero reborn." Saria and Link waited for the Great Tree to tell them what task Link would have to perform to prove his worthiness.

"You must bring me… a 70' plasma screen T.V."

Saria facepalmed, and Link nearly lost his balance from the sheer randomness of the tree's request.

"Are you kidding?" he asked.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be stuck in the forest with a bunch of little kid? I'm bored out of my mind!"

Saria looked only a little offended by the Great Tree's remark. "Uh, Great Deku Tree? I'm right here," she said in an annoyed voice.

"Yeah and…? Honestly, it's just nice having someone over the age of thirteen here. But seriously; plasma screen. Get it, and the key is yours."

Link looked at the clearly frustrated Saria. "Okay, seriously - someone is messing with me here, right?"

She just shook her head no, then turned back to the Great Tree. "Great Deku Tree, are you sure you wouldn't want Link to do something else… Like deal with the thing in the temple?"

"What temple?" Link asked, still confused by what'd been happening the last few minutes.

"You remember me saying something odd has been happening in the forest lately?"

Link nodded.

"I've sensed some kind of dark energy coming from the Forest Temple deep inside Lost Woods. I think whatever is affecting the Kokiri is coming from the temple." She turned back to the Great Tree. "If Link were to figure out what was happening in the Forest Temple, would that be enough to prove he's worthy of the key?"

"Are you sure you won't get me my T.V.?" the tree asked.

"How am I supposed to get a plasma screen T.V. here?"

"Fine, then do the temple thing. The Great Deku Tree has spoken!" And with that, the ancient tree fell silent.

Link and Saria walked back to Kokiri village with Link's next task still fresh in their minds.

Link asked Saria, "So the thing in the temple… is that why the Great Deku Tree was acting so… dickish?"

"Actually yeah, it is," she said. "Usually, he's much worse."

By the time they returned to Saria's hut, Ashei had come back as well. Link was happy to see that she and Midna hadn't killed each other yet.

"How'd it go?" Midna asked as soon as the two entered the house.

"Yeah, Midna said that you two went off to talk to a tree?" Ashei said, as if to confirm if what Midna told her was true.

"Yeah, we talked to him," Link said, watching Saria walk over to her bed and flop down on it, understandably exhausted by having to deal with the Great Deku Tree. She worked with him probably more than the other Kokiri since she was the tribe's leader.

"And…?"Midna asked expectantly. Even Ashei was curious about what a talking tree would have to say.

"Well, it was even weirder than what you'd expect a conversation with a giant talking tree would be. But bottom line? I have to go check out this temple in the forest. Something's going on in there, and the Deku Tree wants me to check it out." He paused for a second. "Well, actually, he wanted me to get him a plasma screen, but…"

"Wait, hold on." Midna stood up and walked over to Link. "A talking tree tells you to go into some old temple to find something and you just—did you say a plasma screen?"

Link shrugged. She shook her head to get herself back on track. "Why do you even have to do this?"

"If I don't, I can't get the key. Look, Mid - you and Ashei don't have to go in there with me. It's my mission; maybe it's best if I just go alone."

Midna placed a hand on Link's cheek as if sympathizing with him, but then swiftly slapped him instead. "Don't be stupid, Link. I came all this way. Do you honestly think I'd sit this out?"

"Same here," Ashei said, coming up behind Midna. "I gotta see how well my training's holding up."

Link smiled; knowing he had his friend behind him made him feel like he could take anything. He turned to Saria, who was also smiling at the scene before her.

"I guess we're all going. But we do need our weapons before we leave."

Saria nodded and hopped off the bed. "No problem. I kept everything we took off you in here." She motioned to a footlocker in the corner of the hut, and she then opened it, revealing Link and Ashei's swords. As they re-equipped themselves, Saria grabbed her spear and glanced at a blue shield on the wall. After a moment of consideration, she took it off the wall.

"Link."

The Hero turned around to see what the forest child had to say. Saria walked up to him.

"This is the shield that the Hero of Time used. I kept it ever since the last time he came to the village." She handed the shield over. "…You should have it."

Link took the shield and looked it over. It was ornately decorated in blues, reds, and golds, with the Triforce above some kind of bird symbol near the top. He strapped the shield on his right arm, and it felt like the most natural thing he could do.

"Thank you, Saria. I know how much this must mean to you."

Saria nodded her head sadly. She had to let go at some point. "So can you show us the way to the Forest Temple?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. Is everyone ready?"

Link looked to his two allies, who nodded that they were indeed ready.

"Alright then. Let's go." Saria led the way out of her hut, and out of the village, into Lost Woods.

* * *

><p>The trip through Lost Woods took less time than they would have thought, thanks to Saria guiding them. Eventually, they arrived at the entrance to an old stone building.<p>

"This is the Forest Temple. I haven't been inside since I felt the disturbance, so I'm not sure what we'll find."

"Don't worry. We can handle it. Right?" Link turned to Ashei and Midna, who both muttered half-hearted acknowledgements. Neither was feeling particularly eager to go into a cursed temple and face who knows what. Concerned for his friends, Link took point and entered the Temple first. Saria followed, then Midna, and finally Ashei.

The inside of the temple was almost completely overgrown. Most of the architecture had been retaken by the forest. The three outsiders looked at the ancient structure in amazement as they moved forward.

"No one, not even the Kokiri, knows exactly who built the Forest Temple," Saria explained. "The Great Deku Tree might know…but…Well y'know," she said to Link with a sigh.

"Yeah…"he simply said, knowing full well what the Deku Tree was like.

Midna and Ashei exchanged a confused look.

"Okay, seriously - what happened with this friggin' tree?" Midna asked.

"I'll tell you later. I'm still trying to figure it out myself, honestly," Link answered. He led the party farther into the temple as Saria instructed him on where to go. After going through a few chambers, they came to a partially destroyed room covered in overgrowth. As they came to the center of the room, a freakishly large spider appeared and attacked them.

Link got in front of the spider and used his ancestor's shield to knock it away. "Holy crap, look at the size of that thing!" he said, unsheathing his sword. "It's as big as a dog!"

Saria came near the unarmed Midna with her spear ready as the spider came at them again. "There are bigger ones, trust me."

The spider lunged at the group once again; Link sliced at it vertically and split it in half. "Huh, not so tough."

Just as he said that, a large number of spiders flooded into the room.

"And not alone by the looks of it," Ashei said as she drew her own sword. The two started fighting off the spiders as Midna guarded Saria, keeping the forest child behind her as best she can.

Despite Link and Ashei's best efforts, more than a few spiders managed to skitter past them. They tried their best to slice, stab, and squash all the spiders they could, but there were just too many. Saria also did her best to kill as many spiders as possible, but as a group of spiders came at her and Midna, the goth's fiery orange eyes narrowed; she spread her legs slightly and jutted her hands forward, ensnaring the spiders in a barely visible wave of dark energy, immobilizing them. Midna then brought her hands together swiftly, and corresponding to that movement, the spiders violently collided into each other. The dead spiders fell to the ground in a gooey pile, and Midna relaxed slightly. She looked down at Saria to see if she was still okay. The forest child looked at Midna with a huge grateful smile but then screamed as more spiders came at them. Midna grabbed her and teleported to the other side of the room, away from immediate danger.

Saria got up and ran to the door leading to the next room, and Midna followed close behind. She called out to Link and Ashei, "Hey guys! Come on, let's get the hell out of here!"

The two swordsmen cut a swath through the mass of spiders and made it to the door. To give them some time to escape, Midna spread her arms and, in a grand forward sweeping motion, used an invisible force to push the spiders away. Once everyone made it through the door, Midna closed it and erected a barrier of dark energy over it, just to make sure nothing was getting through.

She slumped against the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Ashei and Link sheathed their swords as Ashei asked, "Since when can you move things with your mind?"

Midna straightened up and dusted herself off before crossing her arms and saying to her, "A while."

Ashei put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to one of her legs, staring Midna down, "And when exactly were you gonna tell us about it?"

"Figured I'd bring it up when the situation called for it," the goth said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Well I'm grateful for it," Link said, trying to keep as little tension between the two women as possible. "I was actually wondering if you could do the same stuff as Zant."

Midna shrugged again and walked over to them. "Magic is pretty common place where I come from. Me and Zant have been practicing for years."

With little else to say, the group continued through the old temple. The group came to a large door with four lanterns in the center.

"Center of the dark energy is coming from that room," Saria said, pointing at the open door.

"What is it?" Link asked

"It's the center of the temple. The life force of the entire forest, and all of Hyrule, comes from here."

"And what would happen if something messes with it?" Ashei asked.

Saria thought for a moment. "I don't know." She looked up at the taller woman. "But I'm sure it won't be good."

The four of them approached the door leading to the central chamber of the temple when four ghosts came bursting out of thin air, screeching an earsplitting scream. They flew over to the four torches in the middle of the room and stole the flames. When they did, the large door in front of them closed, and the ghosts disappeared.

Left stunned as to what just happened, Midna blurts out, "Okay, what the hell just happened?"

Link scratched the back of his head. "Well, I think the ghosts just locked us out."

"What do we do now?" Ashei asked.

"Find them?" Link seemed unsure of himself as he said it. The appearance of the ghost was so random and unexpected that he wasn't sure what to do next. It was decided that the only option was to find the ghosts and figure out a way to return the flames they stole. The group looked through much of the temple, marveling at more of the impressive, though still decaying architecture.

Soon they came to an open area where the first ghost appeared. "Okay…" Ashei said, more than a little apprehensive. "What do we do now? Ask for the fire back?"

Link thought for a second and said, "Y'know what? Why not? It might work," and walked towards the ghost.

But Ashei tried to stop him. "Wait, Link. Dumbass, I was joking. Link! Oh, good gods!"

Link stood in front of the ghost that had yet to move from the spot it had been floating in since they entered the room. The ghost turned to look at Link when he cleared his throat.

"Hey there. Look, I was hoping that maybe you could do me a solid and give me that lantern you used to steal the fire from that torch. We really need to get into the room behind the big locked door. So, what do you say?" he asked, flashing the floating creature a bright grin.

The ghost looked at Link for a moment before screeching in his face. It pulled its lantern back and shot a blast of fire at the hero, which he blocked with his shield.

"Well, that didn't work!" Link yelled, backing away from the angry ghost.

"No kidding, r-tard!" Midna said as she flung a fallen piece of debris at the ghost, but the hunk of rock flew right through its incorporeal body and crashed behind it as it continued to try and burn past Link's new shield.

The hero's three female companions spread out through the room, trying to find an opening to aid Link. Ashei drew her sword, not entirely sure if it would be of any use. "Okay, if throwing a flippin' column at this thing won't do anything, what will?"

"I don't know," Midna said, focusing on Link, "but first things first, we gotta help Link." She teleported behind Link, grabbed hold of him and warped them both out of the way of the ghost's attack.

When the two were clear of the fire, Link threw the heated shield off his arm to keep from burning himself any further. He examined the burns he had already sustained; they weren't too bad all things considered. His ancestor's shield really did its job. He looked at Midna gratefully,

"Thanks Mid. My stomach feels like its inside out, but at least I'm not about to be Ordonian fried chicken."

"No problem, Link," she said before another fireball came at them. The four of them scrabbled about, trying not to get burned alive while also trying to figure out how to stop the ghost. After picking up his shield and blocking a fireball, Link noticed that the lantern was the only thing on the ghost that looked solid. He wasn't sure if it would work, but with pretty much no options left, Link rushed the ghost with sword in hand and took a swing at the lantern.

To his surprise, the ghost pulled the lantern out of the path of the sword, backing away from him.

"Guess I found your weakness," Link taunted. After taking a few more swipes, Link managed to smash the lantern and the ghost began to dissipate until a small flame was all that remained. The flame then flew out of the room, allowing the four of them to calm down. After the flame left, Link said to the others, "So, did that re-light the torch?"

Saria looked at where the flame passed through the wall and said, "I think. Maybe? At least I hope so." Rael then started making loud tinkling noises to get Saria's attention. "Are you sure Rael? It's really here?" The forest child's partner tinkled and bobbed in the air, apparently confirming what he said to her. "Then show me where it is." The small fairy led its partner around the room, searching for something seemingly important.

"Um, Saria? What are you doing?" Link asked.

"There's something in the temple I knew you might need to stop whatever is going on, and Rael said that it's in this room somewhere." Rael and Saria stopped in front of one of the few still standing walls in the room, "and it's in this wall."

The three outsiders walked up to the wall the fairy pointed out. Link used his sword to tap the wall in different places, eventually hitting a piece of wall that sounded different than the rest of it.

"Here we go. Mid, think you can you can pull this part of the wall out?" She nodded and stepped forward, ensnaring the false wall in her wave of energy. With one quick yank, Midna pulled the false wall out, revealing a battered old chest. Link sheathed his sword and opened the chest to find a bow and quiver of arrows.

He pulled out the bow and examined it. It was a sturdy oak wood bow with a metal grip and it appeared to be in excellent condition.

"The Hero's bow," Saria said with awe in her voice.

"Another one of my ancestor's gear?" He said still looking over the bow.

"Yes. He used that very bow to defend this temple during his journey. When the Hero gave me the shield, he returned the bow to the temple as well. And like I said, I thought it might help you."

Link smiled at the forest child and slung the bow over his back. "Thanks Saria." She smiled back at him as he took the quiver out of the chest and tied it to his belt.

"Link, do you even know how to use a bow and arrow?" Ashei asked.

"Well…no," he said, "but how hard could it be? Pull the arrow back, point it at something and let go. Easy."

Ashei placed a hand on her forehead and muttered, "Oh goddesses, help me. He is an idiot."

"Okay Robin Hood, let's get going." Midna slapped Link on the back, and they continued to search for the remaining ghosts. Since discovering the ghosts' weakness, the next two fights were fairly easier than the first. Link had some issues with firing the bow at first, but he quickly got the hang of it. Hitting the lanterns with an arrow dead on was still a bit of a chore, but soon there was only one ghost left. They searched throughout the entire temple but couldn't find the last ghost. Link had the idea that they should go back to the room with the torches. Both Midna and Ashei thought the idea was stupid but they didn't see any other options.

When they returned to the torch room, they saw that three of the torches were lit. Link walked up to the torches and said, "Well, at least we were on the right track with the ghosts."

When he came close enough to the torches, the last ghost appeared out of nowhere. Link turned to the others and said, "See!? I told this was a good idea!" The ghost screeched as Link turned his back on it.

"Twigboy, focus!" Ashei yelled.

"Right, right!" he answered, drawing his bow. He took aim at the ghost's lantern and shot an arrow at, but the ghost suddenly split into four and the arrow whizzed right through one of the copies.

"Okay, didn't expect that."

The ghost and its copies encircled Link and two threw fireballs at him. He dodged out of the circle and fired another arrow aimed directly at one the lanterns, but again it passed right through.

'Damn, one of the copies.' Link thought.

The ghost continued to throw fire balls at Link as he tried his damnedest to survive the attack. He would occasionally attempt to shoot one of the ghosts, but he would always hit a copy or miss entirely. The four ghosts managed to surround him again and prepared to incinerate him. Just then, his Triforce mark began to glow, and he was stuck with a flash of insight. He pulled four arrows out shot them in the air. The arrows arched up then fell onto the ghosts. Three of the arrows hit vapor, but one hit the lantern dead on. Like the other three, the ghost evaporated and the remaining flame floated to its torch.

In response to the last torch being lit, the door to the center chamber opened once again. Link took a moment to catch his breath, and then he looked to his quiver and noticed that he only had one arrow left. He chuckled to himself, thanking Farore that he thought of that move before he ran out of arrows.

"Link!" That was all the warning Link had before Saria threw her arms around his waist. Link just chuckled softly and rubbed the top of the forest child's head.

"That was pretty impressive, Twigboy," Ashei said with Midna next to her, nodding in agreement. Link would never admit this out loud, but Twigboy was starting to grow on him. He grinned at them before turning to face the reopened door. Link walked through the door first, followed by his three friends closely behind.

According to Saria, the central chamber of the temple was supposed to be an open glade. She described it as the most beautiful place in all of Hyrule, with a crystal clear spring which she claimed has healing properties. Ashei, of course, didn't believe her, but felt it was a moot point. The spring itself was surrounded by flowers from all over the world, not just Hyrule. There were birds constantly flying in and out because the room didn't have a ceiling.

But when they entered the central chamber, Saria was horrified to see almost all of the plants were dead or dying. The water had turned an odd dark purple color, the air no longer smelled of summer even in the dead of winter, and the sunlight was blocked by strange dark clouds.

And in the middle of it all, standing on the edge of the spring, was a strange looking man with white hair, a dress shirt, and black slacks appearing to be performing some kind of ritual, facing away from them.

"So, you managed to get past my ghosts?" the man said with his back still to them. "I had a feeling they wouldn't do much. Especially if you are who the big man says you are."

Link looked the central chamber over, then to Saria who was in tears at this point. He then looked to the man before him with anger in his eyes.

"And who am I supposed to be exactly?"

"Just someone I'm meant to kill. That's all." The man turned around to face Link and the other. An effeminate looking, somewhat disturbing face with a sadistic smile plastered on it came into view. "And by the look of you, I doubt that will be a problem."

Link decided to ignore the insult and get right to it. "Who are you, and why are you here? What have you done to this place?"

"Oh my, aren't we full of questions? Well, I guess it would be rather rude to murder you all without a proper introduction. I am Ghirahim, a mere emissary of my master."

"And your master is?"

"Aha, aha, aha, no spoilers. Now, as for why I'm here: I'm trying to poison the Great Deku Tree." Looks of shock spread across the four young people's faces.

"Oh, the looks on your faces are just adorable."

"Why would you do this!?" Saria cried, "If the Great Deku Tree dies…"

"Then all plant life in the forest will slowly die as well," Ghirahim finished as if bored, "Ho hum, like anyone would miss this backwater patch of underbrush. But that loathsome tree refused to give me what I wanted, so I decided to just kill the thing and take what I came for. Rather simple, really."

"Not if we can stop you!" Link said as he drew his sword and shield. "And I don't care how cheesy that sounded!"

"Oh, the little hero wishes to 'foil my evil plans'? That is just so cute. I suppose you won't just die, so if I must dirty my hands then so be it." Ghirahim summoned a small rapier like blade in his hands and prepared himself to fight Link. When the others readied their weapons (except Midna who had not gone five minute without complaining that it's not fair that everyone has a weapon except her even if she can use magic) Ghirahim snapped his fingers, causing the three girls to disappear, then reappear in a balcony high on the wall near the Central Chamber's entrance.

"Tsk tsk tsk." He wagged his finger at them as they readjusted to the sudden relocation. "Such naughty little girls trying to interrupt a gentlemen's duel. But don't worry my dears - if you are in such a rush to die, I can assure you, you will be joining your precious Hero in the afterlife very soon." He faced Link once again, pointing his sword right at him.

"Don't worry guys; I'll have this freak done in a second," Link shot over his shoulder, trying to sound more confident that he was. Ghirahim just smiled, licked his lips, and lunged at Link. He blocked the attack with his shield, then tried to take a swing at him, but Ghirahim dodged out of the way. Then he attacked again, but Link dodged this time and attempted to stab Ghirahim, only for him to knock Link's sword away with his own. Link and Ghirahim went back and forth for a while, neither landing a solid hit. After Link managed to hit Ghirahim with his shield, an amused smirk grew on his face.

"Seems as though you do have some skill, so maybe I should stop playing with you." He snapped his fingers again, and two red energy bolts flew at Link. He blocked them with his shield, but it pushed him back, leaving him open for Ghirahim to try and stab him. Link managed to knock his sword away at the last possible second and took a step away. He swung his sword down, but Ghirahim just caught the tip of the blade with his bare hand.

Ghirahim smiled wickedly as Link tried to pull his sword away, but it would barely move.

"You may have skill, but I'm afraid you lack the strength sufficient to pose a serious threat to me or my master." He pulled the sword out of Link's hand and kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying a good ten feet away.

"Link!" Midna yelled from the balcony. "Oh man, this is bad..."

"I didn't expect him to run into someone this good so early," Ashei muttered to herself, biting her knuckle.

"Please don't die, Link!" Saria yelled desperately.

"Ah, I do love an audience." Ghirahim grabbed Link's sword by the hilt and held his arms out wide, basking in the misery of the young Hero's friends.

Link felt like he had just gotten hit with a sledge hammer as he tried to sit up. He used his shield to prop himself up, glaring daggers at the sadistic swordsman, hiding the left side of his body to the best of his ability.

He pointed Link's sword at him. "But now I'm afraid our time is at an end. It is too bad you didn't give me a proper challenge. Ah well." He reared back his two swords and rushed Link. "Say good bye, Hero!"

"LINK!" the three girls cried as Ghirahim brought both swords down on Link. He used his shield to protect himself; then, before Ghirahim had a chance to do anything else, Link jabbed the last arrow he had in his quiver into Ghirahim's leg. He let out an earsplitting scream before Link smashed his shield into his gut. He loosened his grip on Link's sword, and the Hero managed to reclaim his weapon and slashed Ghirahim across the chest.

The demented minion fell to the ground, and Link assumed he was unconscious, if not dead. The balcony the girls were standing on disappeared the minute Ghirahim went down. Thankfully, Midna grabbed the other two and teleported the three of them to safety. Link ran over to them, happy they were safe.

"Hey, you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're good, right?" Midna looked down and patted Saria on her green head. The forest child smiled widely at both of them. "That was pretty badass, Link. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Well, I knew you were going to win, Link."

"Thank you, Saria. At least one of you has any kind of faith in me," Link said, eliciting laughter from Midna and Saria.

While the three of them were talking, Ashei hung back and thought about Link's fight. 'This Ghirahim freak was one of the best swordsmen I've ever seen. And Link, a complete novice, actually won. His instincts are amazing. The way he fights… I didn't teach him most of the moves he used while fighting this maniac. And looking back on it, the way Rusl described his fight against that Zant guy… there was no way someone with as little training as him could have done what he did. Just who in the hell is this guy?'

While Ashei mused, Saria looked at the state of the Central Chamber with a saddened heart.

"All of the beauty of this place has been taken from it. We got here too late. I don't know if there is anything we can do to help." She began tearing up as she talked and nearly broke down.

Link kneeled down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Saria. There has to be something we can do, some way to fix this."

"I don't know if there is," she said softly. The three of them looked at the spring in silence, unsure of a way to fix it.

Just then, something dawned on Saria. "Link! Your Triforce piece!"

"What about it?" Link asked.

"The Triforce of Courage has a direct connection to Farore, same as this place. Maybe the Triforce can heal the spring somehow."

Link looked unsure, and he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I don't know. I've never really done anything with the Triforce on purpose like that."

"I don't think we have too many other options, Link," Midna said in a somber tone. Link looked at Midna, then down to Saria's large blue eyes.

After looking into the forest child's begging eyes, Link walked over to edge of the spring and hesitated.

'Okay, now what do I do?' he thought. He never truly understood what the Triforce did. Only that it healed him when he was hurt and turned him into Nightwolf (Author's note: Think Hyrule's version of Batman) when he was in a fight. He didn't know how to heal the spring, but Midna was right; he had to at least try.

He kneeled in the tainted water and dipped his left hand in, and he just kinda waited for something to happen.

The Triforce began to glow, and the glow spread though the water, causing the whole spring to radiate a bright golden light. Midna and Saria looked at the spring in awe as Link unconsciously cured the Central Chamber. Ashei joined the other girls as the golden light encompassed the entire room. Soon, the light receded and when it was gone completely, the spring's water had returned to normal.

Link pulled his hand out of the water and looked at it for a minute. The Triforce had faded and become barely visible. Not gone, just not as gold as it usually is. He turned to look at his companions, who were still in shock from the light show. He just smiled.

"So Saria, everything good?"

The forest child snapped out of her shock and smiled at Link.

"Yeah, I think we are." She looked around the chamber. With the spring restored, the clouds covering the chamber had quickly dissipated, allowing the sun to shine once again. "The plants and flowers with return to life soon now that the spring is healthy again. Thank you, Link."

Link's grin grew wider as he gave a humble chuckle. He walked up to his friends, and after looking each girl in the eye, he walked past them to the exit. The others followed.

Right when they were about to leave the Central Chamber, Ghirahim suddenly started laughing. Everyone's eyes snapped right to him with fear as he slowly got to his feet, laughing the whole time.

"That… That was impressive, Hero!" he began laughing insanely again, then turned his gaze to Midna. He then disappeared and reappeared right next to Midna. Like, right on her. As in no-sense-of-personal-space close. He looked her over before speaking.

"As I thought…you're Zant's darling baby sister."

Midna backed away from him and nearly tripped over Saria. "What? You knew my brother?"

"Not intimately, no," he said as he trailed his finger across the slash mark on his chest and licked the blood. "But I did see him every once in a while. He mentioned you a couple of times. His sweet little sister."

Midna stared at the clearly insane man with a mix of fear and despair. This was the type of people Zant had associated himself with? Lunatics and murderers? She still couldn't believe her brother was with this psycho.

"Although I guess I should go easy on you. After all, there has been a death in the family," Ghirahim said with a sinister, disturbing kind of glee in his voice.

Midna's eyes widened, and her mind went blank. She slowly came to understand what he meant - that her brother, who she hadn't seen in over a year, the only person who ever gave a damn about her, was now dead.

"He's dead?" She dropped to her knees as tears started streaming from her eyes. "Zant's dead?"

"Oh, poor little sister… Had you not heard? Yes, dead as dead can be. Found shot in the head in his own jail cell."

The other three tried to console her, but Midna had gone numb now that she knew her brother was dead.

"If it gives you any comfort, I doubt he suffered. Lucky I wasn't sent to execute him. Oh what fun I would have had with him." Ghirahim wrapped his arms around himself to contain his own excitement.

Link looked at Ghirahim with all the hatred he had, then went barreling at him, discarding his shield and both hands on his sword. He tried to slash at Ghirahim, but he disappeared.

"So angry, Hero. You should try to watch your temper." Ghirahim's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "I do so hope we run into each other again, Hero. I wish to have more fun with you. And as for you, dear little sister, I would not worry about Zant. I'll send you to see him… Soon."

And just like that, Ghirahim's voice silenced. The four were extremely quietfor a long time.

Ghirahim's presence had drained all of them, even if Link was the only one fighting him. You always hear stories about mass murdering psychopaths, people who actually find joy in ending the lives of others. You never actually think you're going to meet someone like that, and when you do, and he's after you specifically, it does something to you. It's disconcerting in the most extreme way.

Link sheathed his sword and walked back to the others. Midna was still on her knees, tears silently running down her teal colored face. Saria had clung to Midna ever since Ghirahim started talking from nowhere. Link wrapped his arms around her as well. Ashei stayed away from the others and leaned against a wall, hugging herself to keep from shaking.

* * *

><p>The trip back to Kokiri village felt like it took forever. Midna was completely silent throughout the Lost Woods. She wasn't crying anymore, but she had this blank expression on her face like someone sucked all the joy out of her. Link and Saria left her and Ashei at Saria's hut before returning to the Great Deku Tree's glen.<p>

Saria bowed before the tree and spoke, "Great Deku Tree, we have returned and…"

"Wow! You two actually survived. Didn't expect that."

"Yeah, that's…really… y'know what, I'm not even surprised by this anymore," Link said to the great tree.

"Welcome to my world," Saria threw out. "Great Deku Tree, Link has fixed the problem in the temple. An evil man was trying to poison the temple spring, but Link cured it."

"Hmm, an evil man," the great tree mused. "A stranger came to the forest not long ago and threatened me to give him the key, but I refused him. This must have been his retribution for kicking his tranny looking ass out of my glen.I suppose I should thank you for saving the forest, Link."

"It was no big deal, really."

"I said I should, I didn't say I was going to," the great tree said, offending Link but again, not really surprising him. "Now that this crisis is over, you may leave this forest in peace."

"Um, Great Deku Tree? What about the key for the Master Sword?" Saria said.

"Oh, right. Was kinda hoping you'd just forget about that."

"Considering I drove half a day here and had to fight ghosts and a crazy gray guy, I don't think that's gonna happen," Link said, crossing his arms, "and you just mentioned it two seconds ago."

"Ugh, fine. I was going to try and sell it on EBay, but I guess you can have it."

Just then a green light appeared in the great tree's branches, and a small gem floated down and into Link's hands. It was a fist sized emerald with the symbol for Farore engraved on it.

"That is the first key to the Master Sword: the Kokiri Emerald. You will need two other gems to awaken the blessed sword."

"Thank you, Great Deku Tree," Link said while bowing. "So, think you could tell me where the other two are?"

"I could, but I won't," The great tree then went silent once again.

"Yeah, knew that was gonna happen."

Link and Saria returned to her hut, showed Ashei the Kokiri Emerald, and explained about the other two gems Link had to find.

"How's Midna doing?"

"You could just ask me," came Midna's fragile voice from Saria's bed. She still looked fairly broken, but at least she was talking.

"So…?"

She looked straight ahead and took a shaky breath. "I'm not great, but I'll deal with it. So what's our next move?"

Saria walked over to the shaken Goth and placed a hand on her knee. "Right now, nothing. You're all tired, in more ways than just physically." She looked in the girl's burning eyes, feeling so much sympathy for her. "You can leave tomorrow morning." She smiled at Midna, and she nodded back.

Midna liked the way the forest child looked at her. She had spent most of her life looking after her brother, and this small, albeit immortal, child made her feel the same sense of closeness she had felt for Zant. Saria felt it as well. In the short time they were together, Saria had come to feel a great deal of affection for Midna. When she heard the news about her brother, it hurt Saria as well. She wanted to do all she could to ease the other girl's pain, so she offered to allow Midna to sleep in her bed. She took the offer up, so Link and Ashei slept in the other Kokiri's huts. Unfortunately for Link, his roommate was the same kid who nearly stabbed him in the neck when he first came to the village.

The next morning, Link, Ashei, and Midna were escorted out of Faron Woods. When they came to the cave leading out of the woods, Link said to the small sage, "Alright, I guess this is good bye."

"Yeah." Saria nodded, tearing up slightly. "I'm going to miss you, Link. And you too, Midna." She walked up to the teal-skinned girl, who kneeled down and embraced the forest child. "And you too, Ashei."

"You really don't need to hug me," she said with a smirk.

Saria smiled at her and turned to Link; she once again saw her old friend as he was the last time she saw him. Link suddenly kneeled down and hugged Saria, then kissed her on her forehead.

After pulling away he had an off look on his face; he asked out loud, "Huh, wonder why did I that?"

"You're a pedophile?" Midna said with a shrug.

"Funny. Let's go." Link stood and took one last look at Saria and the other Kokiri that had shown them the way out.

"Later." He turned to the cave, and the three outsiders left the forest children.

"Bye, Link," Saria choked out as more tears began to fall. She tried her best to pull herself together and turned to face the other Kokiri.

"Okay, let's get back to the village," she said, her voice still slightly broken. The Kokiri all turned to make their way back through Faron, a few giving Saria empathetic looks or a pat on the back, knowing full well why their leader was crying.

The forest sage looked towards the cave that the Hero reborn entered, wishing for the second time in her very long life, that she could grow up.

* * *

><p>First of all I want to thank my new Beta Miss LEva114 for going over this chapter for me. She did a good job with this and I'm grateful to her. And second, I cannot tell you how important it is to outline your stories at least two chapters ahead. I meant for Mido to be the Kokiri that guarded Link. Man I could have had fun with that jackass. But I already mentioned that Mido worked in Telma's dinner with Link and Midna so…Yeah.<p>

Speaking of the Kokiri, I wanted to write them as primitive tribe, kind like Lord of the Flies. Except without the rotting pig head thing. And the Great Deku Tree thing…I don't even know with that. While I was writing it I had the idea of writing him like Lord Guro from DBZ Abridged. I just thought it was funny, I hope you do to, but I if you don't, well that just too damn bad isn't it. And man, I just can't give Midna a break can I? Wll don't worry, the next chapter is going to be focused more on Link and Zelda, so Mid won't have to go through anything to trumatic for a while.

See Y'all next time, Peace!


	7. Reunions and Healings

Damn, it's been a while hasn't it? I finished this a while ago but just didn't upload it. But it's here, it's done, and once again made awesome thanks to Miss LEva114. I'm about half-way done with the next chapter and a follow up to my Aqua/Kairi fic A Drop in the Ocean. I'm also working on another story, but I'll leave that one a surprise.

Anyway, on with the story!

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><p><span>Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend<span>

Chapter seven: Reunions and Healings

The walk from Faron back to the gas station was completely silent. Midna was still clearly devastated, Link didn't have any idea of how to comfort her, and Ashei seemed as stand-offish as ever. So the silence remained until they got to the van and Ashei's phone started to ring.

"Hey Shad, what's up?"

"What's up!?" the researcher said, clearly livid. "Tha's all yew have to say to me!? Ay was trying to call yew all day yesterday!"

"Shad, we were stuck in a dark forest all day. Is it that surprising we couldn't get any reception?" Ashei asked as she put the phone on speaker.

After thinking about it, Shad realized he really didn't have a reason to be mad and calmed down. "Alright, ay guess so, fine. Did yew get the key?"

"Yeah, Link got it from something called the Great Deku Tree?" she said, looking at Link for confirmation that she had called the Great Tree by its real name. Link nodded at her.

"The Great Deku Tree!? Yew actually met him?" Shad asked, becoming very excited.

"Well no, I didn't. Link did. Me and Midna stayed behind in the Kokiri village."

"And yew met the Kokiri!? This is amazing! Ay always knew the Kokiri and the Deku Tree really existed. Please tell me yew took some pictures."

"How could I take pictures? I didn't bring a camera!"

"I'm pretty sure your phone has a camera built in it," Link said, leaning against the van.

Ashei looked her phone over really quick. "Oh, cool. Okay Shad, is there something you actually wanted or is this just a social call?"

"Oh, right. Ay think ay've got an idea of where the two remaining keys are."

Ashei looked over at Link, who had a big grin on his face, with an impressed look of her own. "That's great, Shad. Where are they?"

"The Ancient Forge tha' the passages spoke of must be in Death Mountain. The Gorons who live there used to make weapons for the Hyrulian Royal Family long ago. It makes sense tha' they would know something about it."

Ashei nodded to herself. "Alright, what about the last one?"

"The third key has to be in Lake Hylia. It's the largest lake in Hyrule, and it's strongly connected to the goddess Nayru. Although ay'm still no sure how yew're supposed to get to the bottom of the lake. Ay guess if yew can find some scuba equipment, tha'll help."

After hearing the explanation of where the last two keys were, Ashei turned to Link. "Okay, you're the Hero, Twigboy. Where do we go next?"

Link ran through the options presented to him for a moment, then said, "Well, we still don't know where in the lake the last key is, just that it's in the lake. And Hylia is a pretty big lake. Kakariko is closer, so I guess we go there first."

"Alright then, Kakariko it is. Ya got that, Shad?"

"Yeah, ay got it. Ay'll try and find more information on the Master Sword and get back to yew."

"Right. Later, Shad."

"Wait!" Just as Ashei was about to hang up, Shad remembered something. "Ay almost forgot to tell yew. When yew get to Kakariko, look for the shaman Renado so the Hero can speak to Zelda."

This got Link's attention quick. "What!? Zelda's in Kakariko?"

Shad was a little surprised by Link's outburst. "Yea, she's there training in her magic with Renado."

"So I'm gonna be able to see Zelda again?" Link asked, a dream-like expression on his face.

"Yea, why are yew so surprised? We all knew about it and - Ashei didn't tell yew about this, did she?"

Link glared daggers at Ashei for withholding this little bit of information from him. She just shrugged. "Eh, didn't think it was that important for you to know. Thanks for the info, Shad. Later." She hung up the phone and turned to Link, who was still giving her a death stare.

"Oh, calm down. So I didn't tell you. What would that have accomplished? Besides, we're going to see Princess what's-her-face now anyway, so what's the big deal?" Ashei patted Link on the shoulder as she rounded the van and got in the back; Midna climbed into the driver's seat.

Link was still upset, but he then figured Ashei was kind of right. It wouldn't have made much of a difference if Link knew where Zelda was until this moment. And he was going to be able to see her again. That's all that really mattered. Link smiled slightly at the thought, but his thoughts were interrupted by Ashei saying, "Hey Twigboy! Get your ass in the van already."

Link complied, and they drove off to the next key.

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><p>Zelda had genuinely enjoyed her time in Kakariko. It was nice and quiet and gave her plenty of time to concentrate on her studies. Despite not being able to help with her visions, Renado did teach her most of the basics of magic: elemental manipulation, controlling energy, and mental discipline. Zelda learned quickly and soon was able to perform a few high level spells. She became especially adept at creating shields and barriers.<p>

When she wasn't practicing her magic, Zelda would often spend time with Luda, whom she had quickly grown very close to. They would talk, have lunch together; Zelda would even help Luda with some of her chores.

She had also come to know a number of other people around town. Most of the town knew that Zelda was staying with Renado, but didn't know why or who she really was. All the same, most of Kakariko's residents warmed up to her quickly, like the elderly woman who owned the hotel she stayed in who would usually tell her stories about her youth - some of the racier stories were...upsetting, but she appreciated the gesture. There was also the guy who worked at the nearby convenience store. He was nice enough, but would always hit on her. She never really took him too seriously.

On the fourth or fifth day of her stay, Renado took Zelda up to Death Mountain's summit to meet with the Gorons. Unlike in Kakariko, Renado did tell the Gorons who Zelda was, and that just turned their simple visit into a full blown celebration. The Gorons set up a huge feast for Zelda (although the food was made of rocks so she couldn't actually eat anything) and the Gorons held a traditional sumo wrestling exhibition of her to enjoy; some of the elders even told old Goron legends to the children, which she found fascinating.

During her week in Kakariko, Zelda was able to see Renado helping many of the town's people with any problem they seem to be having. He gave them advice, medicine if they were ill, or on rare occasions a magic talisman if nothing else seemed to work. Renado told Zelda that the talismans held little to no real magic since that could turn out very badly very quickly. He claimed that the people he gave the talismans to didn't need magic, only something to give them some kind of confidence or a belief in something higher than them.

During a particularly busy day, Zelda and Luda were keeping groups of people comfortable while they waited to see Renado. Zelda started talking to people and, more than once, ended up helping them to the point they no longer felt the need to see Renado. The shaman himself had managed to see this once and was impressed with Zelda's empathy and compassion.

Zelda had learned a great deal while she was staying with Renado and Luda and had grown to love the small mountain town. But that time was coming to an end. The week she was supposed to spend was up tomorrow. She was slightly disappointed, but she also missed Castle Town and all her friends there. Zelda's time in Kakariko may have been over but Renado still had one thing to teach her.

Zelda stood on one of the raised platforms circling the walls of the Sanctuary while staring intently at another directly across from her. After a moment a soft green light started to surround her, and in a flash she disappeared and, not a second later, reappeared on the platform she had been staring at. She stumbled slightly, not used to teleporting yet, but stood and looked to Renado.

"I did it!" she said with a clear smile on her face.

Renado clapped for her and smiled encouragingly. "Well done, Zelda." He helped the young Princess off the platform. "I am very impressed by your progress. Teleportation is one of the most difficult skills to master. And yet here you have learned it in a week. Most remarkable."

Zelda smiled sheepishly at Renado's praise as they sat down near the bonfire. "Thanks, Renado. I wouldn't have been able to do this without you; I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done."

"To fulfill your destiny and keep Hyrule safe is all I could ask."

Zelda nodded to him and relaxed, the heat of the fire on her back.

"Have you had any other dreams since the other night?"

"No." Zelda said evenly. "But Link is alright. I can tell."

The shaman just smiled at her. "Alright then."

Just then, Zelda's phone rang in the purse sitting on the platform she had teleported from.

Zelda looked at the bag with some apprehension. 'It's probably Malon again,' she thought. Malon had called at least once a day since Zelda had been in Kakariko Village. She missed her roommate, she really did – and not being able to tell her where she was or what she was doing was difficult. Malon was worried sick and Zelda could tell that much, but h was also a total gossip and couldn't be trusted to keep her mouth shut. Officer Rusl had told her she had to keep where she was hidden a secret so Professor Dragmire couldn't find out where she was hiding. If the evil teacher ever found her, she shuddered to think what would happen to this small town.

"Are you going to get that?" Renado asked.

The shaman's voice brought Zelda out of her thoughts and back to the reality of her ringing phone. She looked at her purse again; she then closed her eyes and held out her hand. A soft green light emanated from her hand, and a second later, her phone appeared. Zelda smiled triumphantly at Renado, who nodded back with a small impressed smile.

Zelda looked at her caller ID and saw that it was actually Shad. A sudden horror fell over Zelda, and she jumped up. "Oh man, it's my boss! I completely forgot about my job, and I've been gone for a week. There's no way Shad isn't going to fire me!"

"Zelda, I don't think..." Renado started, but Zelda cut him off.

"Hold on, Renado." She answered her phone and immediately started apologizing to her boss. "Shad, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about my leaving. It was a last minute thing, and I didn't have time to tell anyone about it, and please, please don't fire me. I'll even work weekends if I have to..."

"Whoa, Zelda, Zelda. Calm down," Shad said to his hysterical employee. "I's alright. Ay'm no going to fire yew."

"You're not?" she said with relief in her voice.

"No, ay jus' wanted to tell yew that the Hero is on his way to Kakariko."

"Really? Link is coming here?" Zelda smiled to herself as she let the information set in. But then she realized something. "Wait, how do you know that? Or where I am? I never said."

"Rusl told me. Ay'm part o' the same group as he and Auru. Ay know all about yew an the Triforce."

"Really? Wow, what are the odds?"

"I's a strange world, it is."

"I guess..." A thought popped into Zelda's head. "Shad, do you know if Link is coming here by himself? Or is he with someone?"

"With someone?" Shad asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah, I mean, is he traveling with two girls; one with round ears and black hair, and another with teal-skin and orange hair?"

The question threw Shad for a moment, not sure how Zelda knew about the Hero's companions or why she was interested. "Um, well, Ashei does have black hair, an although ay'm no' sure wha she looks like, he is with another girl named Midna. Does tha' help?"

"Yeah, thanks, Shad."

"Alright, talk to yew later. And don' worry, yew'll still have a job when yew get back to Castle Town."

Zelda smiled softly to herself. "Alright, later Shad."

She turned back to Renado. "So the Hero is coming, yes?" Zelda just smiled and nodded. "Then we should make ready to welcome him. Would you go and find Luda? She may be out playing with some of the other children."

"Okay," she said simply, still beaming brightly.

Renado noticed the constant grin on Zelda's face, and so with a slight smirk, he said, "And when you find Luda, why don't you return to your hotel room? We are pretty much done with our lessons, and perhaps you have some preparations yourself for the Hero's arrival?"

Zelda's smile was topped off with an embarrassed blush from what the shaman was insinuating, but she also didn't deny it. "Okay, thanks Renado." She ran out of the Sanctuary.

Renado looked content as the Princess left and folded his arms into his sleeves as he set about getting things ready for the Hero.

Outside, Zelda had little trouble finding Luda. She was down the street from the Sanctuary playing a game with some other kids, just as Renado suspected. She walked up to the group of children and the shaman's daughter waved to her. "Hey, Zelda!"

Zelda waved back, and the game broke up as the other children looked to her as well. Zelda had spent some time with Luda's little friends on days when she wasn't too exhausted from her training. She knew some of them, although a few names still escaped her.

She smiled at the other kids then focused on Luda. "Your father wanted you to come home and help him. Some people are coming to visit."

"Alright, then. Later guys." Luda waved good bye to her friends and walked towards the Sanctuary. She stopped when she noticed Zelda was going in another direction. "Zelda, aren't you coming too?"

"Yeah, I am. I just wanted to head back to my room real quick so I can change my clothes."

"Okay." And with that she walked back to her home. Zelda walked the relatively short distance to her hotel room and looked for something to wear to greet Link. She didn't have any of her own clothes here, so Renado had allowed her and Luda to do a little shopping. Just a few outfits so she wouldn't have to wear the same thing every day for a week. Thankfully, Zelda had just done her laundry last night so all of her new clothes were clean.

As she went through the limited options of what she had to wear, she thought about Link and his companions. She had seen them in her vision the other night, but hadn't give them much thought until now. She was curious as to who these girls were. She remembered seeing the orange haired girl in the diner with him on the day they met. She wondered what type of relationship they had. Link had told her about her on their date; her name was Midna if she remembered correctly, which is what Shad had also said. He talked a good bit about her, and he said they had known each other for about a year now and shared a few stories where she was featured. But it didn't seem like there was anything between them, at least not to her. However, you can never really tell with things like this. Maybe Link and Midna dated once, but now they're trying to be friends? Zelda knew from first hand experience that never worked out.

Okay, so she knew a little about Midna, but what about the other girl? Shad said her name was Ashei, so he must know her. But what was her relationship with Link? Why are the three of them traveling together?

"… And why do I sound like a jealous girlfriend?" There it was again. That odd feeling she got whenever the subject of Link Masters came up. First it was an overwhelming urge to make sure he was safe, now she was jealous of women she had never properly met. Why was she acting like this?

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><p>It was around midday as Midna drove down the streets of Kakariko with the same blank stare she had during the entire trip from Faron. Link was seriously getting worried. This was the longest Midna had ever gone without saying something, and he was starting to miss her insults and sarcastic comments. But at the same time he understood why she was so quiet, so he didn't want to push her. It wasn't like when she was being tight lipped about Zant. He couldn't make her talk this time. She just needed time to work through her grief.<p>

He just hoped she would be alright.

As they drove through the small mountain town, Ashei instructed Midna to turn into a convenience store. She and Link got out, but Midna stayed where she was. The only movement she made was to put her head down on the steering wheel. Link glanced at her for a second and could swear that her shoulders were shaking like she was crying. He looked away and followed Ashei into the store.

"Ashei, what are we doing in here? We spent the last of our money on gas and those flashlights. Which makes me wonder – how exactly are we going to get to Lake Hylia without gas?" Link asked as they entered the store.

Ashei stopped at one of the shelves and picked up a pack of Twinkies to examine it as she answered him. "We're not here to buy anything. I don't know where this shaman guy who's training the Princess is, so we gotta ask for directions." She put the snack down and walked over to the young man at the counter. "As for gas, I'm sure the shaman can loan us a few dollars if it's for your 'big important mission.'" She turned her attention to the man at the counter casually reading a magazine. "Excuse me..." The clerk looked up them. "We were hoping you could help us find someone. A shaman who lives in this town? Ren-something?"

"Oh, you seek the great Renado's advice?" the young clerk said with mild interest.

"Something like that. Do you know where we can find him?"

"Yeah, he's right down the street." The clerk pointed to his right, following the way the road led. "Go about three blocks, then take a right at the hotel and it's this really old domed building. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." Ashei and Link left the store and returned to the van to see Midna trying in vain to pull herself together. Neither Link nor Ashei brought attention to this and with a glance, they both silently agreed to get on with why they were here.

Ashei came up behind Midna and told her, "Go down the street we came and turn right at the third light. Look for a hotel, then an old building. Okay?"

Midna just nodded slowly, not looking at her.

"Okay," Ashei said sadly. This was just too hard to take for much longer. Ashei didn't even like Midna that much, and it still killed her to see the Goth this lost. And again: she didn't like Midna. But Link... Link was her best friend. Goddesses only know how much pain he was in with Midna like this.

They found the old building exactly where the clerk told them it was. They all filed out of the car and knocked on the door of the building that almost seemed to be falling down.

"How much you wanna bet the shaman is too old to even hear anyone at the door?" Ashei asked, with an idea of Renado similar to Zelda's when she first came to Kakariko. The door opened to a young girl aged around twelve or thirteen with jet black hair and bushy eyebrows.

"Hello," the girl said plainly.

Link was slightly confused to see a kid here. While having flashbacks to the Kokiri that nearly sliced his throat open, he asked her, "Uh, is the shaman here? I think his name is Renado?"

"Yes, hold on. Father! There are some people here!" the girl called further into the building.

A few seconds later and man in his mid-thirties in a robe came to the door. He thanked his daughter, then looked at the group of young people. "I'm sorry, but I cannot see any customers today. I am anticipating the arrival of a special guest and..."

Renado stopped as he took a closer look at Ashei. "You are Archibald's daughter, yes?" Ashei nodded. "I thought so. You look very much like your father."

Ashei just crossed her arms and looked at him with her unchanging, stony gaze. Renado chuckled at her glaring. "And it seems you have his attitude as well." Then he turned his attention to Link. "So I can assume that you are the Hero, then?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, I'm Link Masters. Can we come in?"

Renado stepped out of their way, allowing the three to enter the building. "Of course. Welcome to my Sanctuary." Link and the others entered the Sanctuary. When they did, Link took notice of Zelda sitting in front of a large bonfire in the middle of the circular room. She was wearing a light violet blouse with flowers stitched along the hem and an ankle length off-white skirt.

Link's smile was big, bright, and completely unintentional. He was just so happy to finally be able to see Zelda again. Zelda smiled as well – not as wide, but her happiness was unmistakable all the same. She stood up from the bonfire, and they walked towards each other. For a moment, they were the only two people in the world. They stopped about arm's length away from each other and just smiled.

"Hi," Link said.

"Hi," Zelda replied. They just stared at each other for a minute, smiling, and forgot that anyone else in the room was there.

They snapped out of it when Ashei put a hand on Link's shoulder. "Hey, sorry to interrupt the moment, but isn't some evil guy trying to kill you? Think maybe you should focus on that for a bit?"

"Oh, uh... Sorry." Link scratched the back of his head. "Zelda, this is Ashei. She's with Rusl and Shad's group. She's been helping me learn how to sword fight."

"Oh, really? Well it's nice to meet you, Ashei," Zelda said with a kind, inviting smile. Zelda felt a little better hearing Link explain who Ashei was to him. She was just his trainer; at least that what she hoped she only was.

"And this is Midna. She's... just kinda along for the ride, really." Link pointed out Midna, who had her head down and wasn't really paying attention to what was happening.

Zelda walked over to her and held out a hand. "Hi Midna. Y'know I remember seeing you in the diner. And Link has told me a lot about you." She was smiling brightly; it fell when Midna limply shook her hand and gave her a halfhearted smile in return. Actually it wasn't halfhearted. It was more like...quarter hearted, or something.

Link came up behind her and said, "Midna's kinda having a rough time right now."

Zelda nodded as she took her hand back. She could clearly see a great deal of sadness and pain in the orange haired girl's eyes, and she sent her a small, sympathetic smile.

Then she remembered something. "Oh, Link! I have to tell you something; right before he brought me here, Officer Rusl got a call from someone at the police station, and he told him that Zant was found shot in his cell."

Link glanced at Midna, who had turned away from the group, with her head still down.

"Isn't that horrible? I mean, I know he tried to kidnap me, but I don't think he deserved to die like that. Anyway, Rusl said that he thinks the Dark Lord sent someone to..."

"Uh, yeah, Zelda... We know," Link said, looking very unsettled. Zelda noticed Ashei had moved in front of the bonfire and wore a pensive look on her face, not too dissimilar to Link's expression.

She herself got a worried look and turned her attention back to Link. "You do?" He nodded. "How?"

Link looked away for a second and scratched the back of his head before starting, "Uh, well... Zant is Midna's brother." When he said that, Zelda's eyes widened to twice their size, and she turned to look at Midna, who seemed to be withering away to nothing the longer this conversation carried on. "Before we came here, this freak show named Ghirahim told us Zant was killed. Probably because he expected her to react like this. He said he wasn't the one who did it, but..." Link trailed off as he noticed Zelda wasn't taking her eyes off Midna. Link turned his eyes to the Goth as well when she moved to leave the Sanctuary. No one tried to stop her as she walked right out the door, and after Midna left, the only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the bonfire.

"Why..." Zelda's broken voice finally ended the silence. "I don't understand. Why would someone want hurt another person like that?" She was on the verge of tears; it didn't make sense to Zelda. She knew people could be horrible to each other; they were capable of backstabbing, lying, cheating, and stealing, but..."Why would a person want to just... completely destroy someone else like that?" she asked, looking back at Link

Link was at a loss. He never thought it about like that. He just saw Ghirahim as the monster that tried to destroy Faron, the Kokiri, and his friends, all just to get the Kokiri Emerald. He couldn't even conceive the notion that he was a person. "I don't know, Zelda." It was all he could think to say.

"There are few demons more vile than those born of man," Renado said, placing a hand on Zelda's shoulder. He realized then that the young Princess had never faced true, dyed in blood evil - the kind of evil she would have to face should she follow the path destiny had laid out for her. Zelda looked away and brushed aside a tear that stung at her eye.

"Let us speak of other matters." He turned to the Hero. "Link, is there a reason you came to our small town?"

"Uh, yeah, right." Link explained about Shad's discovery of the Master Sword and the three keys needed to find it. He told Zelda, Renado, and Luda about meeting the Kokiri and the Great Deku Tree and recieving more information, about Ghirahim and what he did and said. And finally showed them the Kokiri Emerald.

Renado examined the stone while contemplating everything he had heard. "The Spiritual Stones… I have heard of them. Many times, the Goron Patriarch Darunia would tell me of the legends associated with them. But, I have never seen one before." He handed the legendary stone back to the Hero.

"Spiritual stones? Is that what they're called?" Link shrugged while pocketing the stone. He then went on to clarifying their purpose for coming to Kakariko. "Well, Shad told us that the Gorons had the second stone. You think it's true?"

"Yes; according to Darunia, the Gorons hold the Spiritual Stone of Fire, the Goron's Ruby."

"So you think this Darunia will give us the stone?" Ashei asked.

Renado put his hand to his chin and thinned his lips as he thought about how the leader of the Goron's would react to the request. "I doubt it. Darunia is a good man, but he's very stubborn. He will not give up something so precious to the Goron tribe easily."

"Great, so we're going to have to do something dangerous to get the stupid stone again, aren't we?" Ashei said, already aggravated by the prospect.

Link just shrugged again. "Well, no one said this was going to be easy."

Ashei crossed her arms and scoffed. Link chuckled softly then turned to Renado. "Can you show us the way up Death Mountain? Whether they'll give us the stone or not, we still need to try. And if you're friends with the Goron's leader, it might help our cause."

Renado nodded and stood. "Very well, Link. I will accompany you and help you plead your case to Darunia."

"Thanks, Renado," Link said.

The shaman nodded to him and said, "But first, you must be tired from your journey. Let us rest for a moment. My daughter and I have prepared a light lunch for you." The shaman led them to the back of the Sanctuary where he and Luda had set up a table with sandwiches, fruit, and tea.

Zelda started to follow them, but stopped and looked back at the door. She couldn't stop thinking about Link's Gothic friend and how she had hurt her without knowing it.

"Zelda?" Link called to her. He then walked back with a concerned look on his face. "You alright?" She nodded silently. "Okay, then are you gonna eat?"

Zelda looked at the door one more time, and then turned back to Link. "Yeah, I'm just... give me a minute, okay?" She left the Sanctuary before Link could say anything more.

Zelda found Midna sitting on the ground outside of the Sanctuary. She had her head down again, and her left leg was folded underneath her right, which was stretched out in front of her. Zelda walked over and sat next to her with her legs folded in front of her. She rested her hands on her knees, and the two sat in silence for a moment. Zelda glanced at Midna a few times, but never for very long.

"I'm sorry," Zelda said, breaking the silence. Midna made no reaction that indicated that she heard the sandy haired girl, so she continued, "I didn't know about you and Zant. I mean of course I didn't – I don't even know you." She smiled slightly, but it quickly fell when she realized she had just made a joke at the worst possible time. "I suppose that's not really an excuse though, is it. It still hurt... Being reminded."

Finally, Midna chanced a look at the Princess. It was the first time she really looked at her. She could barely see her in the diner, and she was too busy being miserable earlier to really take in her full appearance. She was very pretty. She had soft pale skin, almost like she was made of porcelain or something and very light hair; almost blonde like Link's, but more like crisp warm sand on the beach. And then her eyes – Din almighty those eyes. A steely gray-blue that looked right into your freaking soul. They were calming, soothing. The exact opposite of her own bright orange eyes that could burn you to ashes if she chose to. There was something else in her eyes right now, something Midna couldn't place exactly. Pity, maybe.

The two very different sets of eyes locked, and Zelda continued her apology. "Link told us about what happened in the Forest Temple. How that lunatic attacked you. How he seemed... glad to tell you about... what happened." Zelda looked away and wiped a tear out of her eye. That's when Midna realized what that other something she saw was – it wasn't pity, but sympathy. So many people she knew confused the two, but they are very different. If you pity someone, you just feel sorry for them, but Zelda didn't feel sorry for Midna; she understood her. She was able to feel Midna's pain alongside her and she hurting just the same..

Before Midna could wrap her head around the idea that a complete stranger could understand her feelings so well, the other girl looked right into her eyes and asked her, "Were you two close?"

Still not ready to engage in any kind of meaningful conversation (she couldn't just fold to a pair of pretty blue eyes – she had a reputation to uphold, dammit!), Midna just nodded and turned away from Zelda. Zelda nodded to herself.

"I have a sister, y'know. A twin. We're actually pretty different. She's very active. Always outside and running around. I usually stayed in. I just had more fun playing alone. Tetra, on the other hand, always has someone around her. She'll constantly ask why I can't go out, get dirty, do something stupid. I guess what I'm trying to say is we aren't that close," she said with a shrug. She then hugged her knees closer to her chest and got a very distressed look on her face. "But when I heard that Zant was your brother..." She took a breath and shook her head slightly. "I just thought what it would be like if it was Tetra and... What I would do and…" Midna turned to look at Zelda as she put herself through Midna's situation and didn't like where it lead. Zelda sighed heavily and shook her head again. "I just don't think I'd be able to function," she said simply.

"I wouldn't exactly call what I've been doing functioning," Midna said. Her voice was slightly hoarse from lack of use and from still trying to cover a good bit of her emotions.

Zelda smiled at finally getting the other woman to say something. "But you're here now," she said.

"Yeah."

"Link said you drove here. And that you're willing to go up to Death Mountain."

"Yeah." Midna shrugged like it was no big deal.

Zelda giggled slightly. "Well that's functioning, silly."

Midna looked down and bent her outstretched leg up close to her chest, placing her hand on her knee. While she was busy contemplating Zelda's words, the Princess put a hand on Midna's shoulder. Her head snapped back to look at her. The sympathetic look in her eye was gone, but it was replaced with a calm glint and accompanied by a warm, inviting smile.

"Midna, I know you're dealing with a lot right now, but you have to let others help you. Your brother may be gone, but you still have Link and Ashei. And now me, and Renado, and Luda. We aren't your family, but if you're feeling weak, we can help lift you up." Zelda paused for a second, then asked, "Was that too cheesy?" as she tried to lighten the mood.

Midna chuckled at the abrupt tonal shift. She nodded and held up her thumb and index finger apart by an inch or two. The two girls laughed lightly before Midna looked down with a more content expression on her face. "You guys aren't my family, but you're probably a lot better."

Zelda smiled softly. "Another landmine I should avoid?"

"Best to not even bring it up," she said as she laid her head back and closed her eyes. Zelda stretched her legs out and smoothed out her skirt. It was quiet for a moment until Midna said, "You're very comforting, y'know?"

Zelda looked at the Goth who now opened her eyes with a small smile. "It's like... lying face up in a pool on a bright summer day. And you're floating there in the cool water. And it's like there's not a thing wrong in the world. You're just... at peace." She looked back at Zelda, who was still gently smiling at her, and she took one last moment to appreciate those gorgeous eyes. 'It's no wonder that idiot is so into her,' she thought.

"Are you feeling better?" Zelda asked. Midna nodded and followed her with her eyes as she rose to her feet. Zelda dusted herself off and offered a hand to Midna. "Let's head back inside, okay?"

Midna took it and the Princess pulled her up. She dusted herself off as well and as they walked back to the Sanctuary, Midna said, "Thanks, Zelda."

Zelda smiled at her. "No problem, Midna."

When the two reentered the Sanctuary, they heard Link complaining. "I don't believe this!"

Zelda and Midna approached the table and noticed Ashei off in a corner on her phone. Zelda asked Link, "What can't you believe?"

"How nice Renado was to you!" he said, clearly livid about the situation. "You got to sleep in a warm hotel room; I had to sleep on the floor of a warehouse because Ashei and Midna took the only two cots we brought. You got to rest every once in a while, while I had to work nearly to exhaustion! You got new clothes; I've been wearing this same hoody for the past seven days!"

"Oh quit complaining, Twigboy," Ashei said, interrupting her call. "I fed you every day, didn't I?"

"No! You didn't!"

"Oh." She then shrugged and went back to her call.

While Link fumed, Zelda couldn't help but giggle at how mad the Hero got at his trainer. Link then noticed Midna standing tall and looking more like herself. "Hey Mid, you're looking..."

Midna interrupted him by throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace. Renado and Luda shared a confused look, and Ashei merely cocked an eyebrow while staying in her conversation. Zelda simply smiled at the display, not a twinge of the jealousy she had been harboring this morning coloring her mind now.

Link was easily the most confused out of anyone. Midna had never hugged him like this. It wasn't like when she broke down on their way to Faron because she wasn't sad; she was just... hugging him. Not sure of what to do, he just patted her on the back. "Um, there, there?" He looked at Zelda and mouthed, "What is happening?" to her. She just shrugged.

Midna eventually pulled back, grabbed a sandwich, and said, "I'll be outside a little longer. Tell me when you're ready to go." She took a bite out of the sandwich and walked out of the Sanctuary again.

Link turned to Zelda as she sat down and asked, "Okay, what the hell happened between you two?"

Zelda just reached for an apple. "We just talked for a while," she said before taking a bite.

Just as Link was about to say something, Ashei came over to the table. "Link..."

Link smirked. "Link? What happened to Twigboy?"

Ashei chuckled softly. "Maybe I'll call you that next time I'm in Hyrule proper."

"What do you mean, 'next time?'" He asked, confused.

Ashei took a deep breath, then released it. "I was talking to the nurse I left in charge of my dad while I was here helping you. She says that he's not any worse, but he's not getting any better either. So I'm thinking it might be time I headed back."

Link got up from his seat and said with a chuckle, "Really? I figured you'd be the kinda person to stick around for the craziness up 'til the end."

Ashei smirked. "Ordinarily, yeah, I would, but I was only supposed to be down here for a week. Week's up, so... Besides, I should really make sure my dad is okay."

Link nodded. "Yeah, I get it. Well, thank you for everything." He held out his hand to shake.

Ashei took it firmly, giving it an extra squeeze that made Link wince slightly. "No problem. Good luck, Link." He nodded again and as she let go to walk past him, he shook his hand to relive some of the pain shooting through it.

Ashei walked up to Zelda. "I'm a little disappointed I wasn't able to see what you were capable of."

Zelda smiled at the stone faced girl. "Sorry to disappoint. If you ever come back to visit, maybe I can give you a demonstration."

Ashei shrugged. "Maybe."

She then turned to Renado and Luda, who had gotten up and walked behind Zelda. "I could call you a cab to take you home if you wish," Renado said.

Ashei shook her head. "Nah. I hitched here, I can hitch back."

The shaman nodded simply. "Very well. Tell your father I said hello." The young warrior nodded to him.

"Have a safe trip." Luda waved goodbye, and Ashei gave a small wave back and made her way to the door.

"Y'know, I'll never admit this to her, but I'll actually miss her calling me Twigboy," Link said as he walked over to Zelda, causing the Princess to laugh. He then turned his attention to Renado. "So when can we get going?"

"Whenever you are ready," said the shaman.

"Alright. " He said so with the intention of leaving at that moment, but then he looked back at the table that still had food on it and realized he was still pretty hungry. "Uh… Then how about we finish lunch, then hike up the mountain?"

Renado chuckled. Zelda was right when she said the Hero was... unique. "Alright then. Let us sit."

And the four of them once again sat around the small table. While they ate, Renado and Link went over what would be said to try and convince Darunia to give them the Goron Ruby. After Link put in the possibility of having to pass some kind of trial or having to do something for the Gorons in exchange for the Ruby, Zelda thought that if he did have to do something like that, it could be dangerous. Until this point, she had just been listening to the two of them talk, processing everything in case she'd need the information for later. But now she felt the need to say something.

"I'm going with you."

Link and Renado both looked at Zelda in surprise. Luda wasn't shocked at all. In fact, she had a little smile on her face as she sipped at her tea.

"Uh, no. Th-the… No. Were you not listening when I told you about the Forest Temple?"

"I was."

"Well, Death Mountain is a volcano. So whatever I'm going to have to do to get the Ruby is going to involve lava… most likely a good deal of it."

"I realize that."

"So... that's... dangerous."

"So it's okay for you to put yourself in danger, but not me?"

Luda sat back and enjoyed the show as Link quickly lost ground. "N-no, but... I, uh, I'm the Hero, and you're the Princess, right? So I have to keep you safe. Isn't that how this is supposed to work?"

Zelda nodded, seeing some truth in his logic. "Okay, I'll give you that. And if I had a kingdom to run I might go along with that line of thought. But! I'm just a college student with no claims of sovereignty. So, I can put myself into just as many dangerous situations as necessary to achieve our goals, same as you." She concluded her speech with a sip of tea.

Renado watched intently as the Hero and the Princess had a battle of wills. Luda only had one thing to say.

"Zelda's going with you, y'know."

Zelda smiled at the young girl – she had learned early in the week that once Zelda had made up her mind, nothing short of Nayru herself showing up would stop her. And even that wasn't guaranteed.

Link looked between the two, and then focused on the little girl. "No, she's not."

"So that kid had no doubt that you were coming?" Midna asked Zelda as the two girls followed Renado up the Death Mountain trail with Link sulking behind them.

"I taught her well," Zelda said, feeling rather smug about the situation.

"And exactly what did you teach her?" Link asked, still feeling rather sour about the situation.

"Never deny a Nohansen woman," she said with a giggle. Zelda looked back and felt a little sorry for Link's wounded pride. "If it makes you feel any better, my sister would have punched you in the face until you said yes."

Midna let out a howl of laughter that echoed throughout the mountain range. "Zelda, I have to meet your sister one of these days! Oh! That reminds me of this time Link royally pissed Telma off..." As embarrassing as the story Midna was telling right now was, Link couldn't help but smile. Whatever Zelda had said to the Goth had really worked. He could tell that she was still hurting, but she seemed to be handling it a lot better than she had been before. Call him a glutton for punishment, but he really had missed the insults and sarcastic comments.

"... And he had to stay out. In the cold. In a pair of swim trunks. Wearing a sandwich board advertising Telma's!" The girls shared in a bout of loud, enthusiastic laughter. Now the humiliating stories… those he could do without.

It only took about an hour to make it to the summit of Death Mountain and the Goron City where they could see a couple of Gorons standing guard with their arms folded. Renado walked up to the intimidating rock creatures, and their faces relaxed from twin menacing scowls to more accepting expressions.

"Renado, welcome. And you too, Princess," one of them said. He then looked over to see Link and Midna, and their scowls returned. "And who are these two?"

Renado gestured for Link and Midna to come forward as he said, "This is the Hero, Link, and his companion, Midna. They have come to see Darunia about an urgent matter."

One of the guards walked up to Link and looked him over. Thankfully, he had already equipped his sword, shield and bow, so he now looked much more like how someone would imagine the Great Hero would look. The guard cracked a smile. "First the Princess graces us with her presents, and now the Hero as well. This is a great day for the Gorons. Come in, please." The guards stepped away and bowed as the group entered the underground city.

The Goron city was massive. Being built into a mountain, the Gorons had plenty of room to expand throughout the tribe's history. Obviously, the fact that it was an underground city meant that there was almost no light from the outside, save for a few slivers that made it through cracks near the upper part of the city. The city was lit by both massive bonfires and normal streetlamps throughout the city. The fires within the city made the whole thing glow. They made it seem like the city itself exuded power. Not surprisingly, the Gorons worshipped the Goddess of Power Din more than the other two Goddesses, and there were many statues of her in all of the most important places in the city.

As they entered the city, the other guard tucked into a ball and rolled ahead of them, saying that he would let the patriarch know they were coming. As they ventured further ahead, Link and Midna looked at the mountain dweller's city, completely in awe of everything it had to offer. Zelda's eyes wandered as well, remembering everything she had seen the last time she was here and pointing out certain important things to the newcomers.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination: Darunia's home. Unlike the outside gate, Darunia had only one Goron standing guard outside his door, with the same imposing stance as the guards outside. The guard stepped out of the way. "The patriarch has been expecting you. Go in."

"That guard got here fast," Midna said to Link quietly. Link just nodded as they walked past the guard and into Darunia's home.

They walked in to see Darunia sitting in a meditative position surrounded by other, much older Gorons. The group seemed to be discussing something important, but Darunia quieted them down.

The patriarch rose to his feet and extended his arms wide. "Renado – it's always a pleasure to see you, brother," he said, walking over and enveloping the shaman in a huge bear hug that threatened to snap the mere human in half.

Thankfully, Darunia backed off before that became a problem. "It is good to see you as well, my friend." He bent his back in an effort to realign his spine after it was nearly crushed.

Darunia gave a loud, hearty laugh that caused his stomach to jiggle slightly. Darunia was something to see. He was larger (both in general size and muscle mass) than most of the other Gorons they had passed on the way here and much larger than the five elder Gorons that were sitting around him. He also had a spiky beard and a pendant with the Goron's symbol on it. "And you have company as well," he said, turning his attention to the three young people behind the shaman, Link and Midna still wide-eyed at the giant rock creature. "It is good to see you again also, Princess." He bowed to Zelda.

Zelda bowed back slightly, even though she was still not used to such treatment. Darunia turned to Link and gave him his full attention, pulling the Hero out of his awed stupor.

"And you must be the Hero." He took a moment to look Link over. "Well, you don't look like much, but I suppose you could surprise us," he said as he slammed his massive hand down on Link's shoulder. Link only just barely managed to stay on his feet, and he gave the patriarch an uneasy smile as he attempted to suppress the pain he was in. Darunia turned his attention back to Renado while putting his fists on his hips. "So, what can I do for you, old friend?"

"This actually Link and Zelda's request. I think they should be the ones to ask." The shaman gestured to the Triforce bearers.

The patriarch again turned to the two as Midna muttered to herself, "Yeah, just go ahead and pass the buck to us, asshole," quiet enough for almost no one to hear.

Slightly intimidated by the questioning look, Darunia was giving them (Farore alive, he was big!), Link looked to Zelda to talk for both of them. Zelda, seeing the frightened look on Link's face, looked up to the towering Goron leader. "We need something that the Gorons have so we can defeat the Dark Lord."

"Of course. Everything we can do to help you, we will do gladly," Darunia said in a kind voice.

Zelda smiled; maybe this won't be so hard after all. "We need the Spiritual Stone of Fire, the Goron Ruby."

The way Darunia's face changed made Zelda think she had just asked him to sacrifice his first born.

"I'm sorry, but no. I cannot give you the Goron's Ruby."

Zelda and Link shared a worried look. Seeing things going downhill, Renado stepped in. "Darunia, please, the Hero needs the stone to awaken the Blade of Evil's Bane. Surely you can see how important this is."

"ENOUGH!" The patriarch's voice boomed throughout the room, making everyone, even the elder Gorons, flinch. "I have made my decision, and no one will defy it," he said while looking at Renado. "Be thankful that we are close friends, Renado. I am not so gracious with others. Now leave us." He walked over to where he had been sitting before and returned to the lotus position. "We still have much to discuss that is of no concern to you."

Renado glared at the patriarch for a second before turning and walking out of the room. Link, Zelda, and Midna followed him. Once outside, Midna asked, "Okay so... what do we do now?"

"I don't know," Link said, and then looked down to think of a backup plan. "Maybe we should just head to Lake Hylia. We'll get the gem the Zoras have, then come back and hope that whatever crawled up Darunia's ass gets out by then."

"I'm afraid that may not happen." The group turned to see one of the Goron elders walking out of Darunia's room.

Zelda walked up to the elder cautiously. "You're Cor, right?"

Cor smiled at her. "Yes, I am Goro Cor. One of Darunia's oldest advisors. I even aided his father when he was patriarch."

"Right. So why do you say Darunia isn't going to change his mind?"

Cor got a pensive look on his face as he folded his arms behind his back. "There is a lot going on with the Gorons lately. Our food source has been drastically cut down ever since those blasted Dodongos showed up in our mine. As you and Renado know, we Gorons eat rocks, and as you can see we are hardly lacking food." Cor gestured to their surroundings, clearly there were plenty of rocks for the Gorons to feast on. "But the rock in Goron Mines are among the most nutritious, protein filled in Death Mountain and without them, our people could quickly become weak and malnourished."

After Cor's explanation, Midna couldn't help but ask, "How do rocks have protein?" but she was silenced by Link jabbing at her with his elbow.

"Cor, I understand you're going through a rough time, but why would this have anything to do with the Goron Ruby or Darunia's hostile reaction to when we asked him about it?" Zelda asked.

"Because the Goron Ruby is located inside the mines. If anyone wanted the Ruby, they would have to face who knows how many vicious Dodongos."

"So this meeting," Renado asked, "is about how to deal with the Dodongos?"

Cor nodded. "Yes."

"I don't get it. You guys are all big and strong; why don't you just go in there and kick the Dodongos out?" Minda asked, crossing her arms. To her, the solution seemed obvious.

Cor chuckled bitterly. "You've never seen a Dodongo before, have you?" Midna shook her head no. "Well, the Dodongo are fire-breathing monsters – like dragons, except not as smart or powerful. But the small ones are about the size of Darunia."

Midna's eyes widened at this new bit of information. "Okay... now I see the problem."

"Not only that..." Renado interjected, "but they also eat Gorons. Is that not right, Cor?"

The Goron elder sighed heavily. "Yes. Darunia does not want to risk the lives of any young Gorons on a mission to rid ourselves of the Dodongo, so he's insisting on going in alone to find a way to drive the creatures out."

"But that's suicide," Zelda said, her eyes full of concern.

"Which is why we are doing everything we can to convince him to take a larger party in with him. But, as you can guess, he is very stubborn."

Renado came up to the Goron elder and placed a hand on his rock-like shell. "Perhaps I could be of assistance in persuading him?"

Cor chuckled triumphantly and slapped Renado on the back, not doing the same kind of damage Darunia would have, but still knocking him forward slightly. "Any help would most appreciated, Renado." The elder then turned to return to the meeting with the patriarch.

Renado turned to his young companions. "I have to leave you three to your own devices for the time being. It may take some time before we can convince him to have anyone accompany him into the mines. I will see if I can talk Darunia into allowing Link to be part of his party as well." And with that, the shaman also re-entered the Patriarch's private quarters.

The three of them stood outside of Darunia's home as the guard retook his place in front of it. Midna stuffed her hands in her pockets. "So what do we do while they're talking?"

"I don't know," Link said with a shrug. "I guess we could look around Goron City until Renado convinces Darunia to help us."

Midna rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine – if there's nothing else to do."

Zelda thought about what they could do, and one thing popped into her head. "Well, there is one thing we could do..."

Link and Midna looked at her expectantly. "We could get the ruby ourselves."

The two cooks looked at the princess, stupefied. Finally, Link blurted out, "Are you nuts!?"

"Link, this is the only thing that makes sense."

"In what way does this make sense!?"

Despite Link freaking out, Zelda remained surprisingly calm. "If the Dodongo eat Gorons, then it doesn't make sense for any of them to go into the mine. It's better if something or someone who isn't part of the Dodongos' food chain deals with them."

"Yeah, okay, but... but..."

"You did say that we'd have to deal with something like this to get the ruby," Midna chimed in.

"I know, but..."

Zelda came close to Link and grabbed hold of his hands. "Link, I know we can do this. I mean, remember who we are," she said as she held up her gloved right hand that housed the Triforce.

Link looked at her hand, then into her steely blue eyes. All he could do was sigh. "Alright, fine. Let's go."

Zelda smiled and walked away, sure of where she was going. Link looked at her with a worried expression as Midna walked by and made a whipping sound with a smirk on her face. Link glared at her as she asked Zelda, "So how exactly are we gonna find the Goron Mines? Nobody mentioned where it was and unless you've been there..."

"I haven't."

"Soooo..."

"Sooo all we have to do is ask someone," she said as Link finally started following them.

"And who do we ask?" he asked.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure Big Brother said to take you to the Goron Mines, Princess?" the Goron guard asked as he led the three outsiders down the mountain trail.<p>

"Well..." Zelda looked unsure of herself, clearly not comfortable with lying.

Good thing Midna stepped in. "Of course he did. Would the Princess lie about something like that?"

The Goron gave the darker woman an off look, then looked to Zelda. After a moment of consideration, he turned his attention forward. "No, I suppose not."

Zelda looked at Midna, and she just winked at her.

The group made it to the Goron Mines. "Here you are, Princess. May the Goddesses have mercy on you in there," he said, knowing full well the kind of danger the Hero and the Princess were about to face.

Link walked past him and patted him on the arm. "Thanks. We appreciate you showing us the way."

"It's no problem, Hero." He eyed the lot of them and felt he had to speak again. "Are you three sure you don't need any help in there?"

Link and Midna looked to Zelda. She just shook her head. Like Darunia, she refused to put the Gorons in this kind of danger. Link turned back to the guard. "No, we can handle this."

The guard simply nodded, curled into a ball, and rolled back to the city entrance. "Maybe we shouldn't have lied to him," Zelda said after the guard was out of earshot.

"If we didn't, he wouldn't have brought us here. Probably," Midna said. Zelda gave her a look. "Hey, there are definite advantages to having a dishonest person with you."

"She's not wrong," Link said, heading into the mine. "Come on, let go get roasted alive and eaten."

Zelda and Midna smiled at each other and followed him.


	8. Into the Fire

First off, I'm sorry for taking so damn long for these updates. Second, it'll probable take just as long to get another chapter out. I, once again, am without a computer so I have to go to the damn library to write this shit. I'll try and get in to a groove with my writing so it doesn't take to long; but I would expect anything from this story for the next few months.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter eight: Into the Fire<span>

They felt it the moment they crossed the threshold of the mine; the intense, damn near oppressive heat.

"Din almighty, it's hot it here," Midna said, taking off her hoodie and revealing a black, sleeveless mid-drift top and glowing tattoos from her fingers to her elbows.

Link took off his hoodie as well. "Well, that's a little better," he said as they both threw the hoodies on the ground near the entrance of the mine.

The three of them walked through the first chamber of the mine and observed the shape of it. The cavern had rusted metal girders lining the walls and railings along the ledges to keep any passersby from falling into the lava below. The mine itself seemed similar to the Forest Temple in the way that it seemed just as old, but also very different. Where the Forest Temple was crumbling from the passage of time, the forest itself having slowly retaken it over the centuries, the mine was ugly and decrepit even though it had been used very recently.

"Guys, get close to me," Zelda said. Link and Midna moved towards Zelda as she commanded. She closed her eyes and put her hands together. A small blue light appeared between her hands, and she then extended her arms out to form a dome of cold air around the three of them.

"Wow, this'll come in handy," Link said.

"Yeah, this is pretty good," Midna added, a bit more impressed by the feat. "You just started to study magic, right?"

Zelda nodded, "Yeah, just this week." They continued to walk through the mine into another lava chamber. "Renado actually took me up to the summit of Death Mountain to learn how to control fire and heat. This was the first thing he taught me." She motioned to the cold barrier.

Midna just nodded. "Impressive for a beginner." Zelda smiled at the compliment. "I've never been all that great with the elemental stuff, myself," Midna continued with a shrug.

"So what was it you were doing in the Forest Temple?" Link asked.

"Shadow magic. Nothing special really. Me and Zant have studying it for years."

Link nodded silently. He couldn't help but chuckle at a thought. "Y'know, it still seems pretty wild to me that I actually know two people who can use magic. I mean, I never thought this kinda stuff really existed." He paused for second, "It actually reminds me of all these old stories my granddad told me and my sister when we were younger."

Zelda nodded. "My grandma told me stories about the Hero and the Triforce as a kid too." She then thought of something, "Hey, do you think they knew who we were? What we'd do one day?"

Link scratched the back of his head in thought. "Hmm, maybe." He then turned to Midna and asked, "Hey Mid, did your grandparents tell you any stories like that?"

Midna took a moment to recall any memories of her grandparents. "Well, I never met my mom's family. But Jerik's parent's used to always tell me that my mother was a whore and all I'd ever be good for is laying on my back," she said nonchalantly.

Zelda stared at the Goth, dumbfounded at how indifferently she spoke; like the venomous words were no different than saying hello. Link, not as surprised by Midna's family dysfunction after what happened in the van the other day, could only ask, "How are you not a lot worse than you are?"

She just shrugged again as they enter another chamber and stopped in their tracks. The three of them stared in awe and terror of the giant lizards that stomped past them, each one about the size of a bus. Snapping out of his stupor first, Link grabbed the two girls and dragged them behind a fallen piece of debris.

"Are those the Dodongo?" Zelda asked.

"Cor wasn't kidding," Midna said, still in shock. "These things are huge."

Link looked around the room, trying to figure out a way to get around the Dodongo without being spotted. He noticed a walkway high above the Dodongo's slow procession. "Hey, Midna?" He got the Goth's attention away from the giant lizards. "Think you could get us up there?" he asked, pointing to the walkway he saw.

She followed his line of sight and found where he wanted her to get them. She nodded her head and grabbed hold of Link and Zelda. After a moment of concentration, she teleported the three of them to the higher path. Link and Midna walked out of the room while Zelda looked down at the Dodongo marching below. She saw one beginning to sniff around where they had been hiding and silently thanked Nayru that Midna had gotten them up here when she did. She turned away to follow the others, failing to notice the Dodongo looking up towards where the three young people walked off to.

They walked through a few more lava chambers before coming to a room without lava and a number of strange round plants littering the ground. Link walked over to one and picked it without thinking. "Hey, check this thing out." He held the plant up for the girls to see.

Zelda realized quickly what the plant was and yelled at him, "Link, throw that away, now!"

As soon as he picked the plant, the steam started to smoke. Link looked at her, cocking an eyebrow, "Okay... Why?"

Zelda rolled her eyes and telekinetically sent the plant flying out of his hand and against the wall.

"What was...?" Before Link could finish his sentence, the plant exploded. Link looked at where the explosion just happened with wide eyes.

"That was a Bomb Flower," Zelda said calmly with Midna standing close by with a look mild surprise at the incident. "It's a special plant that only grows here in Death Mountain. The plant's fruit has juices similar in chemical composition to nitroglycerin. If the fruit is improperly picked, it will explode in a few seconds," she explained further, gesturing to the blown out wall.

Link looked back to Zelda. "Well... Thanks for that."

Zelda just smiled and started to walk past him towards the exit.

Before they could leave, a Dodongo crashed through the same wall that blew up. The Dodongo roared and Link drew his sword and shield.

"Guys, get down," he called to the girls as he rushed the giant lizard. He dodged a breath of fire and slashed at its head and legs, but the sword glanced off its scaled skin. He backed away from the Dodongo only to see it spinning around to hit him with its tail. With not enough time to get out of the way, Link held his shield up to take the brunt of it, but the force of the hit still sent him flying back.

Midna and Zelda ran over to him as he sat up. "This thing's skin is like steel. I can't cut it."

Zelda looked at the Dodongo, then got an idea. She grabbed the bow off Link's back. "Can I borrow this?" She then snagged the quiver of arrows before he could say anything. "Thanks!" She drew back an arrow and shot it right into the Dodongo's eye. The Dodongo roared and attempted to breathe fire at her in revenge, but she created a shield to protect herself and the others.

Link looked around and saw some scaffolding leading to an overhead catwalk the Dodongo was standing under. He climbed to his feet and started scaling the structure. Once he was above the Dodongo, he jumped down and stabbed his sword into the giant lizard's other eye. Link {scrambled} off the Dodongo's head, and immediately ran for his life as the Dodongo began spewing fire out of his mouth in rage and pain.

"Nice going!" Midna yelled as the three ducked behind anything that could provide cover from the flames. "Now it's blind AND pissed!"

Peeking over the rock she was hiding behind, Zelda tried to take another shot at the Dodongo. She had to duck a few times to keep from getting roasted, but when she finally saw the perfect opportunity, she pulled back an arrow, filled it with ice magic, and loosed it. The arrow flew right through the fire and into the Dodongo's mouth. When the fire stopped, Link and Midna came of their hiding places to see the Dodongo coughing. It tried to breathe fire again, but nothing came out. It started hacking up ice, and frost began to encase its entire body. After about a minute, all that was left of the Dodongo was an ice sculpture.

The three came out of hiding and inspected Zelda's handiwork. Link put his hand on Zelda's shoulder to congratulate her. "That was great, Zelda! You saved our butts."

Zelda blushed heavily at Link's praise.

"Yeah, after you two nearly got us barbequed by blinding this thing," Midna said as she more closely examined the frozen Dodongo. She didn't even notice Link glaring at her as she realized the lizard wasn't just encased in ice; it had been turned into ice. This was some seriously advanced magic. "This really is impressive, Zelda. When did you learn to do this?"

Zelda shrugged. "Just now."

That really got her attention. "Just now? Seriously?"

Zelda nodded.

"Well, that was awesome." Link said enthusiastically. "Did Renado teach you how to shoot like that too?"

"No, actually I've been practicing archery for years now." Zelda said as she handed the bow back to Link.

Link pushed the bow back into her hands. "I think you should hold on to that. I have a feeling you're going to be a lot more useful than me with that thing. Especially with those Ice Arrows."

Zelda smiled and nodded as she slung the bow across her back.

"And again, I'm the only one without a weapon," Midna said while Link and Zelda smiled at each other like love-struck idiots.

They left the frozen Dodongo behind to melt and after going through a few more chambers, found a large crane attached to several platforms; most likely to help the Gorons mine ore and rocks in the more spacious cavern. The volcano's lava flow was far enough below the cranes that Zelda's cold bubble was unnecessary.

They walked on to the first platform and took a look around. It was just as rusted as everything else in the mine. Link noticed a lever on the far side of the crane. When he pulled it, the ancient gears ground into each other, giving off a horrible screeching sound. He quickly turned the machine off and looked to Zelda and Midna. Zelda looked concerned, Midna just looked irritated.

Link looked around some more, and he saw three more platforms like the one they were currently standing on gradually ascending up to a ledge he guessed was the way out. The only problem was there was no way of getting to the other crane platforms. No catwalks, no ladders, not even ropes to swing between them.

Link looked back to Midna. "Hey Mid, you see that ledge up there?"

She looked up to see the ledge Link saw, realized what he wanted, and said, "Sorry. I can't get us up there."

Link's face fell. "Why not?"

"I can't see the top of it," she said simply.

Seeing Link's confused face, Zelda decided to explain, "Teleportation is a tricky spell to master. I just learned it today, but I know you need one of two things for it to work," she held up one finger, "Either an anchor, some form energy that the caster can focus on," she held up a second finger, "Or a direct line of sight with your destination."

"And we don't have either from here," Midna pointed out.

Link swore under his breath, "If we can't use magic, then we need to get up there the old fashioned way." He turns back towards the girls, "Look around. There had to be a way for the Gorons to get to those other platforms back in the day. We just gotta find it."

"Alright, then," Midna said quickly before grabbing Zelda's arm. "Me and Zel will look over here." She dragged Zelda away before either her or Link could say anything.

"Oh, sure, 'cause it's not like I wanted to spend some time alone with Zelda or anything," Link muttered to himself as he started searching.

Instead of helping him, Midna led Zelda off the platform all together.

"Uh, Midna? Shouldn't we be helping Link look around?"

"Yeah, we'll get to that in a minute. I just wanted to talk to you first – about magic."

For some reason, the way Midna said that made Zelda very uncomfortable. "Um, okay? But... y'know I've only been studying magic for a week. I don't know that much about it."

"That's my point," Midna said, crossing her arms in an unintentionally imposing way. "You know a lot more about magic than you should – like the Ice Arrows. How'd you do that?"

Zelda was officially confused now. "I just covered the arrow in ice and... shot it. I thought the best thing to do was to freeze the Dodongo from the inside out."

"Hey, where are you guys?" Link called out.

Midna rolled her eyes in irritation before yelling back, "We're comparing bra sizes! Give us a minute!" She turned back to Zelda. "You didn't just freeze it, Zelda. You turned it into ice. How'd you do that?"

"I-I don't know. I just did it."

"Look, despite what most people think, magic doesn't just happen. Someone who's only been training for seven days shouldn't be able to perform a transfiguration spell that advanced."

"Look, whatever you guys are doing, I think I've found something!" Link called again.

"Just wait!" both Midna and Zelda yelled, and then turned to face each other again.

They stared each other down for a second before Zelda finally spoke, "I don't know tell you Midna. I just did it."

Midna sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Zelda, I told you..."

"I know, "magic doesn't just happen." I guess I'm just special."

Midna looked her over, then sighed again and ran a hand through her hair. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. It was... it was just bugging me, I guess. Let's just forget about this, okay? Come on, let see what that idiot wants."

Midna walked back to Link, but Zelda stayed behind for a moment. She looked at the back of her right hand before joining the other two.

When she found them, Link asked, "What were you two talking about?" Midna and Zelda shared a glance.

"Nothing important," Zelda said. "So what did you find?"

"Uh, right." Link looked between the girls, but didn't say anything. He led them to a part of the crane facing another platform. He stood in front of a slightly raised metal slab connected to some kind of machine. "Check this out." He stood on the slab, causing another slab on the other side of the machine with three raised sides on the sides and back to lurch upward slightly.

He stepped off the slab and the other one fell back down. "I think I figured out how the Gorons got around on these crane things. One Goron would curl into a ball and slam down on this pneumatic plate here…" he pointed to the slab he was just standing on, then to the other plate, "Then anyone or anything standing on this other one gets flung over to that platform up there." He finished his explanation pointing to the higher crane platform.

Zelda and Midna looked up at their destination, then at each other; coming to the same realization. Zelda turned back to Link, "Link, it was impressive that you managed to figure all that out, but the thing is…"

Link cut her off, "Look I know it isn't the safest plan, but don't worry; I'll go first just to make sure everything goes okay," he said with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, but…"

"That's a great idea, Link." Midna said, cutting Zelda off again and grinning wildly. "Do ya need any help?"

"Yeah…" Link pointed up to the cranes gears, "Grab one of those gears and drop it on the pneumatic plate." Link stood on the flinging plate as Midna used her magic to pull out one of the rusted gears and leveled it over the pneumatic plate, with a wicked smile on her face the whole time. 'Wait, what are you smiling…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Midna dropped the gear and sent Link flying through the air, yelling. Instead of leading safely on the higher platform, he got racked on the railing. Zelda winced, imagining the pain Link must be going through. She bumped Midna in the shoulder as she stifled laughter.

Link crawled over the railing and slowly got to his feet. He turned back to the girls. "Okay, your turn. You guys are lighter, so I don't think… that will happen. And I'll catch you."

"No problem, Link." Midna placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder and in an instant, they were standing in front of him. Link looked at them, stunned. Midna just smiled at him as she said, "I couldn't see up there, but I could see up here." Zelda stood next to her with a small apologetic smile.

Link just looked between the two of them for a minute. He felt really stupid for not figuring that out himself. "Let's just get out of here."

"Ya sure you don't want to try the gear thing again?" Midna couldn't hold it in any more and just burst out laughing at the expression on Link's face. The Goth teleported them to the other platforms, making their way to the exit. Midna stopped laughing, but kept smiling as they left the cavern behind.

The three of them walked into another chamber that thankfully, didn't have any lava in it. It seemed like the higher up in the mines they went, the less molten rock they encountered. Unfortunately, as soon as they entered the room, a loud, annoying, screeching noise could be heard. All three young people covered their ears as the sound grew louder and louder.

"For the love of Din! What the fuck is that noise!?" Midna shouted, the noise driving her nuts.

Finally two humanoid lizards jumped down, seemingly out of nowhere, brandishing weapons. "What are these things?" Zelda asked.

Link drew his sword and shield. "Not sure. But I don't think they're friendly."

Sure enough, the lizards rushed the group. Link brought up his shield to block the lizard's blade and pushed it back to duel the creature.

Midna used her magic to push the lizard that attacked her and Zelda, allowing the Princess to draw her bow and loose an arrow into its shoulder. The lizard stumbled back, then faced two girls and spat a fireball at them. Zelda stood in front of Midna and cast a barrier spell to protect them. Once they were out of danger, she pulled back another arrow, turned it into ice, and fired. The lizard dodged out of the way, rolling into a ball towards them and leaping into the air to bring its sword down on them. They dodged out of the way, and Zelda loosed another arrow, but the lizard knocked it out of the way and turned towards Midna. Midna ensnared the lizard in her energy field, but it just spat fire at her, causing her to dodge out of the way and loose her magical grip.

Link parried one of the lizard's strikes, giving him an opening, and he kicked it away. He looked over to his female companions and noticed that Midna was about to be attacked by the other lizard. He moved towards Midna to help her, but the lizard he was fighting rushed him. He blocked the sword attack.

"Okay, this has to end now!" Link pushed the lizard back and bashed it with his shield, then stabbed it through the chest, successfully killing the creature.

Before Link could end his fight, the lizard attacking Midna was about to stab her to death. Zelda shot it in the back, getting its attention. The lizard turned to Zelda and spat another ball of fire at her. She jumped out of the way, knocked two arrows, and shot them into its stomach and sternum. With the creature stumbling towards her, Zelda fires one more arrow into the lizard's skull.

Link ran over to Midna as she got back to her feet; the lizard fell down dead. "Mid, you okay?"

Midna brushed herself off. "Yeah, I'm fine." She then looked over to Zelda who was currently pulling her arrows out of the lizard's corpse. "But I think I'm in love with your girlfriend."

Link just chuckled softly. Zelda walked over to the two cooks. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, nothing broken," Link said nonchalantly. "And Midna wants to marry you."

Zelda looked at Midna with a look of surprise on her face. Midna put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I just think we would make beautiful children together," with a smirk on her face before she and Link burst out laughing.

Zelda looked annoyed at them laughing at her. Link managed to calm down first. "Okay, sorry Zelda. We were just joking."

"Oh... okay." She played with the strands of hair near her ear. "Uh, can we keep going?"

"Yeah, sure." Link sheathed his sword and walked towards the exit, followed closely by the two girls.

Thankfully, there were no other major impediments from that point on. They managed to avoid the other Dodongo that they came across, and there were no other lizard men to attack them. They eventually came to one of the old Goron forges. The three of them looked around the room, taking notice that most of the weapons that adorned the walls were far from mint condition.

"I think the Goron Ruby might here somewhere. Or if not here, then another armory." Zelda said.

Midna and Link shared a glance, then looked back at Zelda. "What makes you so sure?" Link asked.

"When I visited the Gorons the first time, I sat with a group of children as one of the elders told folktales about the tribe," she started, " and one of these stories was about how they traditionally worshipped Din. It was in the development of weapons. 'It is in the service of the Goddess of Power that we make these tools of war.' That is an old Goron prayer that was said before work in the forges could begin. It would only make sense that the Goron Ruby would be in one of the forges."

"That does make sense actually," Midna said, musing about what Zelda just told them. She then turned to Link, "And you remember what Shad told us? 'The second key is in an ancient forge.'"

"Right." Link turned to Zelda. "So where do you think it is? "

"I'm not sure. We should look around, and if it's not here let's look for another forge." The cooks nodded in agreement and the three of them started searching the room for anything that might hold the ruby.

After looking around for a minute, Link found a cache of old bombs. "Hey, check these out." He held one up so the girls could see it. It was one of those old timey round bombs with a fuse at the top, and was a bit bigger than a handful. "You think they still work?"

"Considering the conditions of the rest of these weapons, I kinda doubt it." Zelda said while running her hand over a decaying sword.

Link spotted what looked like a zippo lighter and picked it up to look at it. From the weight, he guessed it was completely solid, meaning there wasn't any fuel inside. He opened the lighter and noticed it lack the metal chimney or a wick; only the flint and flintwheel. The flintwheel was slightly bigger than what other Zippos had; which he guessed meant that it didn't make fire like most lighters, but instead caused just enough of a spark to light the bomb's fuse. "Well, let's try it." He used the lighter to light the bomb and threw it across the room so none of them could get caught in the blast. After a second, the bomb went off. **(Would put more stuff here about people's reactions to the bomb.)** "Guess they still work."

"I guess so," Midna said. "These might come in handy. Grab a few more."

Link did as she said, grabbing a bag and tossing about fifteen bombs into it. He slung the bag across his back, took a quick look around, and said, "I don't think the ruby's in this one. Let's head to another forge."

The two girls agreed and followed him out to search more of the mine. They wondered more of the mine, avoiding any fights when they could. Only having one or two more run-ins with the lizard men, the three were able to use Link's newly acquired bombs to clear out certain pathways to reach places in the mine they couldn't before. Thanks to this, they managed to find two more Goron forges; unfortunately, neither forge held the Ruby. However, as they traveled, they found themselves going further down into the mountain, and once again found more and more lava pits.

They found one more forge. "I swear to Din, that damn ruby had better be in here or I'm fucking leaving," Midna said, the constant heat, walking, and searching getting on her last nerve.

Link just shook his head slightly. "Mid, come on..."

"No, Link. I'm serious! I'm fucking leaving!"

Zelda smiled at the darker girl before scanning the forge. Something caught her eye; one of the walls seemed...off. She walked up to the wall and placed her hand on it. Link and Midna exchanged a glance, and then Link asked, "Zelda, is something wrong?"

The wall didn't feel like the other walls in the other forges. She knocked on the wall while putting her ear against it. It sounded hollow. She pulled away from it and said, "Guys, I think this is a fake wall."

"Wow, another one?" Midna said without thinking.

Zelda looked at her, confused, "Another one?"

"Never mind," Link said as he walked up to the false wall. He pulled out a bomb and placed in on the floor near the wall before lighting it. The three turned over a nearby table and hid behind it, just in case something ricocheted towards them. The bomb went off and demolished the wall, revealing the Goron Ruby sitting on a pedestal.

Zelda's eyes lit up when the faint light of the red gem shone through the gaping hole in the wall. "We found it!" She smiled as she and Link ran towards the spiritual stone.

"Finally!" Midna shouted, throwing her hands up into the air and slowly followed.

Link grabbed the Ruby. "Well, that's two keys down." He held the stone out for Zelda to look at as well. They could see that, like the Kokiri Emerald had Farore's symbol, the Goron's Ruby had Din's symbol engraved into it.

Zelda nodded once and took the stone in her hands. "Now that we have the stone, we just have to figure out how to get the Dodongo to leave the mine."

Link just stared at her for a moment. "What?"

"We have to get the Dodongo out of here," she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Midna walked up to Zelda and put a hand on her shoulder. "Um, Zelda, honey, sweetie… love of my life… We came here for the stone. We have it – so let's get the hell out of here."

"But if we go without getting rid of the Dodongo, the Gorons will have to come in here and risk getting eaten."

"And what about us?" Midna asked incredulously. "Zelda, we just barely survived fighting one Dodongo. How are we gonna get all of them out?"

"I don't know." Zelda gripped the stone and looked down at her hand. "But, I mean... I'm the Princess, right? I should be helping the people of Hyrule, shouldn't I?" She looked up at Midna and Link.

"Zelda, I get what you're saying," Link said to her. "But this really isn't our business. We have our mission, and we have to focus on that."

"Yeah... but..."

"I want to help the Gorons too," Link continued. "But there are only three of us. What can we do, especially when we don't know where the Dodongo came from?"

Zelda looked down for a second. "I guess you're right." She handed the Ruby back to Link. "Let's get back to Goron City. The least we can do is tell Darunia what we've seen here." Link nodded and the three of them moved to walk out of the forge. But as they came to the center of the forge, they heard a monstrous roar.

"Ah great, is that another Dodongo?" Midna asked.

"I'd guess..." Before Link could unsheathe his sword, or even finish his sentence, the floor beneath them exploded and the three fell down into another lava pit.

Zelda sustained the least damage of the three of them, thanks to a split second shield spell. She could see that they were about to fall into the molten rock, so she grabbed the two cooks and teleported them to a ring of cooled rock surrounding the pool of lava. But as she did, the heat and fumes from the lava made it extremely difficult to breathe, and she fell to her knees.

Midna was coughing hard as she asked, "What the hell just happened!?"

The three looked behind them as heavy footsteps could be heard behind them. A Dodongo easily twice the size of the others they'd seen with spikes sticking out of its skin walked up to them, stopping a few feet away. "I'm guessing he had something to do with it."

The giant Dodongo roared, causing the young people to scramble away from it. It opened its mouth and took in a deep breath. Taking a guess at what might be coming next, Zelda stood in front of Midna and Link and erected her cold barrier as a blast of fire rocketed towards them. The Dodongo's fire only lasted about twenty seconds, but even that was too much for Zelda, as she collapsed right after dropping the barrier.

"Zelda!" Link knelt down to check on her. She was sweating bullets and breathing heavily; Link guessed it was probably heat stroke. He looked up to the king-sized Dodongo and saw that it was curling up into a ball and starting to roll towards them. Link grabbed Midna's arm and dragged her toward the rolling Dodongo.

Midna screamed, "What are you doing?!" Link brought both girls close to his chest as he dove towards a gap in-between the Dodongo and the wall, allowing the Dodongo to roll past without crushing them.

"Oh... Okay... Good going, Link." Midna looked over to Link still holding Zelda. Zelda herself was coughing near constantly; it was clear she was getting worse the longer she was here. She then turned her eyes to the Dodongo to see it moving back towards them. "Link, what are we gonna do? I can barely breathe. I doubt I could move all that much. How are we gonna get out of this?"

Link looked from Midna to the Dodongo. "I think I have an idea. Keep Zelda safe, okay?" He handed Zelda over to Midna before struggling to his feet and shrugging the bomb bag off his back. He pulled the lighter out of his pocket and lit one of the bombs as the Dodongo took another deep breath. He put the lit bomb back into the bag and runs towards the Dodongo to throw the whole bag into its open mouth. The Dodongo swallowed the bag and a second later, the bombs exploded inside the King Dodongo's stomach. Blood spilled out of the Dodongo's mouth slightly before it fell to the ground in a heap.

Link fell to his knees, the heat and fumes finally getting to him. He crawled back to Midna and Zelda; collapsing against the wall. "Well…" he sputtered out in between coughs. "I won."

"Yeah. Now how are we gonna get outta here?"

Link looked around the lava pit quickly. "I don't think we can. No tunnels. No passageways. Which actually makes me wonder how the Dodongo got in here? And you can't get us back to the forge up there, right?"

Midna shook her head. "Not from this angle, no."

"Well..." He shrugged in a way that suggested there really wasn't anything they could do. He then got a rueful smile on his face. "Kinda makes me wish I hadn't killed the Dodongo. Getting eaten might have been preferable to slowly baking to death." He then looked to Midna. "Sorry I got you into this, Midna."

"Hey, I pretty much forced you to take me along. And after what happened at the Forest Temple, I kinda figured something like this would happen."

"I can get us out."

Link and Midna snapped their attention to Zelda. Zelda sat up out of Midna's arms and coughed a few more times. "I left... an anchor... at the entrance of the mine… I can teleport us there."

Link and Midna glanced at each other quickly, then Link said, "Zelda, are you sure? You... don't look that great."

Zelda smirked. "Did anyone tell you you're a real sweet talker?" Link smiled slightly. "And besides... If I don't, we are going to die."

Link had to admit she had a point; he nodded, willing to let Zelda do what she needs to do. Zelda sat up and concentrated on a green light between her hands to prepare her spell. Link and Midna put their hands on Zelda's shoulders, and a second later the three of them disappeared in a flash of green light. They reappeared at the opening of the mine, and Zelda collapsed again.

"Zelda!" Link grabbed her to keep her from falling on her face.

He put her head on his shoulder and saw that her eyes were closed, and a smile was on her face. She gave a sigh. "No more lava."

Link chuckled, "Yeah. No more lava." She moved closer into his arms, and he brushed some hair out of her face while smiling down at her.

Midna smiled at the scene, but the moment was ruined by someone clapping. Link and Midna looked up to see a man in an army uniform.

"I must say, I am impressed. I honestly didn't think you would make it out of the mine. You do have skill, Hero."

"Who the hell are you?" Link asked, gripping Zelda slightly tighter.

The man put his arms behind his back and took an "at ease" stance. "General Augustus Onox of the Hyrulian army. I came here for the Goron's Ruby, which I'm guessing you now possess."

Link just glared at him as he looked down at Zelda's barely conscious form. "Could I assume the Princess isn't dead?" Link shook his head. "Too bad. Would have made my job a bit easier."

"Ah, great. Not another one of these guys," Midna said as she tried and failed to stand up. She wasn't going anywhere, and taking a look at Link, she had a feeling neither was he or Zelda.

That didn't mean he couldn't at least try. Link grabbed the hilt of his sword, but Onox just laughed at him. "You have spirit, Hero. I commend that. But, let's be honest, you have nothing left. You used the last of your power in the mines. Do you truly believe you can even lift your sword, let alone battle me on an even field?" Link just held his hand on the sword and glared at Onox. Onox just chuckled, "Oh, you do not disappoint, Hero. Very well, let's get this over with." Onox moved towards the three with a sadistic grin on his face.

Before Onox could get too close to them, three Gorons slammed down between him and the young people, then others slammed down behind him. One of them stood up, revealing himself to be Darunia. The large Goron patriarch stared down the general, who was almost at eye level with him.

"Am I under the impression that you mean to do harm to our guests?"

"I did, actually," Onox said with no hint of fear for the imposing rock creatures. He took a look at the three Gorons protecting the Hero and his allies, "But I suppose I can let the Hero live for now. Though I doubt the master will be pleased that I failed to get the Spiritual Stone." He turned to Darunia, a sick smile on his face. "And do not worry Darunia, I will be sure to get the Dodongo out of your mine. They have served their purpose."

All eyes widened at that statement. "Wha...Are you saying that you are responsible for those monsters threatening our people!?" Darunia thundered.

Onox just smiled again. "Yes."

Darunia reared back a fist and with a mighty roar, threw all his considerable power into a punch directed right at the general's face, but Onox stopped the punch with his bare hands, sending him skirting back a couple feet. Onox shook his hand slightly and chuckled. "That almost hurt."

He looked at Link. "Recover soon, Hero. I wish to see if you are truly the challenge Lord Ganon says you are." He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a plume of smoke and flames.

As soon as Onox disappeared, Link relaxed and let go of his sword. He looked back down at Zelda, who was just barely conscious, but seemed to hear and see everything Onox said.

"Darunia!" Link called out to the Goron Patriarch. "We need to get Zelda to a doctor or something; I think she might have heatstroke."

Darunia walked up to the Princess in the Hero's arms and nodded; he turned to one of the Gorons standing nearby. "Take the Princess to Goro Tok and have her diagnosed."

The Goron nodded and took Zelda in his arms, then proceeded to walk up the mountain as carefully as he could, considering his cargo. Darunia faced Link once again. "Now for you two..."

"Yeah, we can't exactly… what's the word..." Midna said, snapping her fingers a few times. "Move. So I think we're just gonna stay here and die." She then fell back, unconscious.

"Yea, I'm kinda with her..." Link said, passing out as well. The Goron leader chuckled softly as he ordered the two remaining Goron to take them back to the summit as well.

* * *

><p>Goro Tok assured Renado that the three young people would be perfectly fine. Zelda didn't have heat stroke as Link thought, but she had over-exerted herself. All she needed was a good night's rest. The next day, Zelda, Link, and Midna were feeling much better, especially after a good meal provided by Renado and Luda. Just as Onox promised, the Dodongo left the Goron mine, allowing the Goron to mine the more nutritious rocks held within. Despite the looming threat of both Onox and the Dark Lord, the Gorons held yet another fest to celebrate the mine's reopening and the presence of both the Princess and the Hero.<p>

Unlike the first time Zelda came to Goron City, Darunia and the outsiders had much more important issues to deal with while the other Gorons partied outside.

"Onox... is troubling," Darunia said, sitting again in a lotus position surrounded by the Goron elders, along with Link, Zelda, Midna, and Renado. Link and Midna had already explained what happened in the Goron mines while Zelda was resting, including the number of Dodongo they had seen (they theorized that there were probably a crap ton more that they hadn't seen) and their battle against the King Dodongo.

"If the Dark Lord has someone with the power to control the Dodongo, he is far more dangerous than I ever expected." The Goron Patriarch was pensive about the situation Hyrule had found itself in.

Renado turned his attention to the young Princess. "Zelda, what do you know about the Dark Lord?"

With all eyes on her, Zelda spoke, "Not that much, actually. Prof. Dragmire is said to be one of the foremost experts of ancient Hyrule folklore and history."

"Probably because he was actually there for most of it," Midna threw in offhandedly.

"And unlike me and Zelda, he actually seems to remember it," Link added.

"And if he's smart, he'll learn from his past defeats and come after us before he actually tries to take over the country." She lowered her voice slightly. "In fact, he already did." She shot an apologetic look at Midna.

Getting that the sandy haired girl was feeling bad about Zant, she waved it off and gave her a light "don't worry about it" smile. Zelda let out a small breath of relief before continuing. "Considering that, I have to wonder if Prof. Dragmire's credentials weren't forged just to get closer to Link and I."

Darunia listened to the Princess and the others, and finally decided to say something. "The Hero and the Princess must continue their journey. If the Dark Lord sent Onox to take the Goron Ruby, he must have also sent someone to take the Zora Sapphire as well." Renado finished his thought. "And he or she will almost certainly do something to harm the Zora tribe in order to get it."

Link stood up. "Then I guess we should help 'em out before that something happens, huh?" The patriarch and shaman both nodded at the enthusiastic Hero.

Darunia dismissed the meeting and all in attendance exited the Patriarch's home, while the Goron Leader himself stayed behind in a meditative state with his eyes closed. When Zelda looked back at him, she could swear he was praying.


	9. The Swordswoman and the Witch

**Okay so, here's the deal. It has been about three, four months since the last time I up dated this friggin story. And I'm sorry about that. I'm almost finished with the next chapter, but it still might not come out for a while yet. So, instead, here is something I wrote awhile ago, but never uploaded. Mostly because I couldn't figure out a good place for it to go without messing up the narrative flow. But if you've missed Ahei, here is something to tide you over, because she wont be showing up again for a while.**

* * *

><p>Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend<p>

Bonus chapter: The Swordswomen and the Witch

Ashei found Midna outside the Sanctuary, just staring at Death Mountain. "Midna?" The Goth looks over at the stone faced girl exiting the domed building. "What are you doing?"

Midna just shrugged and looked back to the mountain, "Waiting for Link and Zelda. Where are you going?"

"Back to the mountains." Ashei said walking up next to Midna and looking at the mountain as well. Midna cocks her eyebrow and points towards Death Mountain. "No. I mean my home in northern Hyrule. I need to check on my dad."

Midna just nodded, both girls still looking at the Goth's next destination. "You gonna come back at some point?" Midna asked out of nowhere.

Ashei shrugged, "Maybe. Depends on how well my old man is doing. You're gonna hafta keep an eye on Twigboy while I'm gone though."

Midna just smiles, "I think I could do that."

Ashei turns to look at Midna "You gonna be okay?" Midna glances at the young swordswoman. "You were pretty messed up for a while. And now you seem a lot better. I'm just wondering how well you're actually holding up."

Midna looked down at her feet for a moment. She then looked back up to Ashei, "I'm not sure. I'm trying to be better. It still hurts though."

Ashei stared at her a bit longer, before putting her hand on Midna's shoulder and tried to say something reassuring, but nothing came out. So instead she just said, "I hope everything works out for you, Midna." Midna nods as Ashei as she walks away.


	10. Deep Blue

**Holy Shit! Did it really take me this damn long to finish this!? I actually finished this a few days about but forgot to upload it. I just wanted to get this out now so there might be some errors here and there, but hopefully Miss LEva will be able to work her magic and make it all pretty for you all. I got a new laptop, and I'm working on the next chapter right now so hopefully I'll have it done in the next month or so.**

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><p>Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend<p>

Chapter nine: Deep blue

The life of a teacher is far from glamorous. Sigmund Auru knew this all too well. However, the low wages never really bothered him. It always made him feel good to help fill the empty spaces in the minds of Hyrule's youth. However, what did get to him were…Well, he couldn't very well say the stupid ones now could he? Let's say…The ones who lack enthusiasm. Yes, that would work. The kind of kids who would only come to college because they felt they had to. The ones that didn't know what they wanted to do with their lives. Or worse, the ones that only came because their parents were making them.

Auru loosened his tie and plopped down at his large mahogany desk. He glanced at the clock to see it was a little after 9 o'clock. He looked down at his desk at the ungraded test papers, most of which would not get higher than a C, and thought of his star pupil.

It always made his day to read a paper written by Zelda Nohanson. Well written, well researched, strong arguments, excellent grammar. And best of all he could tell that she had a true hunger to learn more. She was going to make one hell of a historian one day. He still couldn't believe that she was the fabled Princess of Destiny.

Thanks to his advanced age, Auru didn't think he'd ever actually meet the Princess in his life time. He had done all that his father had done when he was younger. He told his son about the old legends, and the others in the group. His didn't believe any of it, which didn't really surprise Auru all that much. Hell, Auru didn't believe his father when he was first told of their family legacy. He wasn't exactly sure when he started to believe, but he just hoped his son would eventually as well.

Auru was pulled back from his ruminations by a knock on the door. It opened to the imposing form of Prof. Dragmire. "Hello, Sigmund." He said in a gruff but innocent voice.

Auru stiffened, "Hello Ganondorf." He said curtly. What can I do for you?"

Ganon merely kept up his cordial demeanor "Can't a friend come see his colleague without wanting something?"

But with Zelda's revelation last week, Auru had stopped buying what Ganon had to sell. "I just wanted to come see you. It feels like it been so long since we've talked."

Ever since figuring out that Ganondorf was the Dark Lord reborn, Auru had taken care to avoid him. "Yes, well I've been very busy." He taps the tests on the desk to keep them in a neat stack just to exenterate his point.

Ganon just smiles, "Of course, Sigmund. I'll leave you to finish your work." He move towards the door, but stopped before he was out of the room completely, "Oh, but before I go. I was wondering: When did you last see Miss Nohanson?"

Auru flinched visibly at the mention of the young Princess. He hesitated slightly as Ganon made his way back to the desk, "I-I'm sure I don't know Ganondorf. Now if you would please…"

Ganon slammed his hand down on the desk, cracking it slightly, "That's very interesting, Auru. Because I spoke with administrations and they told me YOU requested she take a week off of classes." He said with a sinister grin on his face.

Auru was shocked for a moment, but then stood up defiantly, "I will never tell you where that girl is, Ganondorf."

Ganon straightened up, putting his behind his back with a smug grin on his face, "Don't worry Sigmund, I already know where she is." Auru's eyes widened in utter surprise as Ganon walked around his desk and closed the curtains. Yes it was late, but he didn't want any witnesses and you can never really be too safe.

"I just wanted to know how co-operative you'd be. Shame really, I will miss our discussions about history."

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><p>"Oh Din, I'm gonna die!" Midna bent over the railing to throw up for the third time since the ferry left port. Link held her hair and rubbed her back to offer some kind of comfort. She pulled herself back over the rail and slid down to sit on the boat deck.<p>

They had gotten to Lake Hylia at the middle of the night, only to find out the only way to get to Zora's Domain is by a ferry that runs from eight to five. Or a renting a row boat, though the rental place closed at around the same time, or swimming.

Midna actually suggested stealing a boat, but Link and Zelda shot the idea down. They used some of the rupees Renado had given them to buy a hotel room and wait for the ferry to start running in the morning. Unfortunately, the ferry tickets coast a lot more than they thought, and they now only had enough for the trip back home.

Midna put her head between her legs and took slow, deep breaths while Link rubbed her back again, "Mid, y'know you probably could have just bought some sea sickness pills before we got on board right?"

"Well, I didn't know I was going to get sea sick until the damn boat started moving. And besides if we did that there wouldn't have been enough rupees for all three of us to get on board." She suppresses a gag, "But if I knew this was gonna happen I wouldn't have gotten on board in the first place." Midna shoots up and throws herself over the rail to empty her stomach again. "Oh god! Someone kill me!"

Thankfully, a deck hand came along and escorted Midna to the infirmary. With his best friend taken care of, he goes to look for Zelda. The ferry was full of Hylian tourists and vacationers looking to see the "exotic" Zora culture of the Domain. While the Zora were largely isolated in the past, not unlike the Gorons, they have in the past century or so opened the Domain for other races to come and learn more about the tribe.

A bit of the interest come from the fact all of the water in Hyrule comes from Zora's Domain. The Zora allowed the Hylians to see at least the waterfall that protects the Zora city underwater. That ended up starting a kind of chain reaction that eventually to Zora's Domain becoming a huge tourist attraction. Now, whenever someone says they are going to Lake Hylia, it almost goes without saying that they are going to Zora's Domain.

He finds her leaning against a rail at the front of the ferry, looking very deep in thought. He walks up next to her and mimics her position.

After a moment of silence, Link asks, "So what's on your mind?"

"A lot." Zelda answers simply. Link, just nodded his head; letting her organize her thoughts. "I guess, I'm thinking most about Ruto and the other Zora. I prayed for Nayru to watch over the Zora last night, but I just feel like something's already happened…That we're to late…"

Link puts a reassuring hand on Zelda's shoulder "Don't worry Zelda, I'm sure everything's fine."

"God I hope so."

They fell back into a morose silent as the ferry past by a waterfall. They could both hear the tour guide tell a group about whatever significance it had, but neither was really paying attraction. "So, do you really think Ruto can get us the sapphire like you said?" Link asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"She should be able to. She's the tribal leader's daughter." Zelda said, absent-mindedly.

"Wow, really?" Zelda just nodded, "Huh. Where'd you meet the Zora tribe leader's daughter?"

"Privet school." Zelda ground the two words out with the kind of venom she'd usually save for talking about Prof. Dragmire, her downcast expression changing to one more of anger and disgust.

"Not too many happy memories?" Link asked with a smirk.

Zelda shook her head slightly, "Let's just say that it was tolerable thank to Ruto."

Link chuckled softly at Zelda's sour look, then asked, "So…are you rich or something?"

Zelda looked at him like he had just asked the stupidest question she'd ever heard, "Link, you do know my father is Daphnes Nohanson, right?"

Link just stares at her with a blank expression.

"The senator?"

"Oh! No, I didn't know that."

Zelda just smiled while shaking her head, "You don't read newspapers very often do you?"

Link rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, "I could stand to be a bit more informed"

Zelda chuckled slightly before her pensive expression returned. Examining Zelda's face for a moment, Link said, "Hey, let check out the rest of the boat and talk to some people. I mean, you are the Princess, you should get to know your subjects."

Zelda couldn't help but smile as Link lead her around the ferry. They spent the rest of the boat ride talking with other tourists. There were some genuinely interesting people on board, like a couple from Labrynna that, in their old-age, is trying to see every major land mark in the world. It had helped calm Zelda down and take her mind off the possible fate of her Zora friend; at least for the moment.

The ferry docked at the end of the river, letting its passengers disembark. Link and Zelda carried Midna off the boat and set her down, gently, on a bench. Midna, looking a little green, well...greener, in the face, supressed another gag, "Oh, thank god we're off that Din forsaken thing. I wasn't sure how much longer I could last."

"Uh, Midna? You do realize we'll have to take the ferry back once we're done here, right?" Link asked, unsure how the Goth will react.

Midna just stared at her for a second before turning to Zelda, who held the duffle bag with their weapons in it, "Give me one of your arrows I'm gonna stab myself in the neck."

Zelda chuckled softly, "Sorry Midna, we still kinda need you." Midna just signed heavily and put her head between her leg to take deep breaths, muttering something about "Selfish Princesses".

After taking a few minutes to let Midna rest, the three of them asked the tour guide with a pretty impressive afro direction to Zora's Domian. She pointed to a natural land bridge over the river, "Just take that bridge over there and stay on the riverbank for about twenty minutes until you see a massive waterfall, you can't miss it. Though, I'm not sure how much good it'll do you."

Link and Zelda shared a look before Link turned back to the tour guide, "What do you mean?"

The tour guide, Iza going by the name tag, looked conserned as she told them, "Well, the Zora have been turning people away for the last couple of days." She looks up towards the direction of the Domain, "I'm not sure what's going on, but they must be having some serious troubles."

Zelda's consern for the Zora only grew after hearing this new bit of information, and it showed clearly on her face. Link tried to remain calm, mostly for her sake, "Thanks away."

Iza smiled brightly, "No problem, glad to help. Stop by any time and be sure to check out our world famous fishing hole." She said, clearly as part of her job. Link , Zelda, and Midna waved her off as they made their way to the Domain.

Like Iza said, it took about twenty minutes before they came upon the largest waterfall in all of Hyrule. The three looked at the massive natural wonder in awe before a guard stopped them, "I'm sorry, kids. Zora's domain is closed at the moment, we aren't allowing tourests in." The Zora was dressed in kevlar body armor over a wetsuit and a fish headed helmet with bulbous eyes. "I'll have to ask you three to turn back."

Link scratched the back of his neck while answering, "Uh, yeah, we kinda can't do that." The guard moved his hand to the gun holstered on his belt. "U-uh...I-I mean w-we, uh...Zelda little help here."

Zelda stepped in front of Link the adress the guard, "I'm sorry, but we really need to see princess Ruto."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." The guard said, his hand still on his gun, "Now leave before I'm force to take lethal action."

Zelda held up her hands to appear as non-threatening as possible, "Okay, okay...just call Ruto. tell her Zelda Nohanson is here. That's all I want."

She couldn't see the guard's eyes behind the helmet, but Zelda assumed he was sizing her up, considering to allow the requst. After about a minute, the guard tapped the side his helmet to turn on a radio, "I got an issue at the base of the falls. Go to the princess's room and ask if she knows a Zelda Nohanson." He turns back to the visitors, his hand still on his gun, "Do. Not. Move."

Several minutes passed before someone called him back. Afteristening to what they were saying, he truned to Zelda, "You can go on up Miss Nohanson." Zelda smiled at the two cooks and walked forward. Link and Midna followed, but the gaurd stopped them. "Only, Miss Nohanson."

Zelda turned to look back at Link and Midna, "But-"

"It's alright Zelda." Link said before Zelda could argue, "We can just wiat here for you."

Zelda nodded and walked towards the Domain. At the base of the waterfall, another Zora guard stopped her, "Zelda Nohanson?" She nodded, yes, "I'm to escourt you to the Zora city, where you will await Princess Ruto. Is that understood?"

"Yes, thank you." The guard walked over to a keypad on a wall next to a shutter gate and enter in a code. The gate opened and the guard gestured for Zelda to follow her. The two walked up the trail to the top of the waterfall in silence. But soon Zelda's curiousity became to much for her to resist. "If you don't mind me asking, I was wondering why you've been turning people away from the Domain."

"I'm afraid that's Zora business. You aren't autherized to know such information." She answered without looking at her. Neither said anything else until they reached to the top of the waterfall. Zelda took a moment to look over the edge, but the sheer hight caused her to become light headed. She stumbled back but the guard kept her from falling on her ass.

"Be careful Miss Nohanson. A lot of people are hit with vertigo at this hight." Zelda just nodded and followed the gaurd into the cave the river water flowed from. Inside was a sizable grotto with stairs circling a pool with acted as the enterance to the underwater Zora city.

The guard walked Zelda to the edge of the pool after taking off her gun belt and placing it in a locker, "Wait here Miss Nohanson, I'll be right back with Princess Ruto."

"Alright." Zelda said before cocking her head slightly to the side, "What's you name?"

The guard looked at her, but obviously Zelda couldn't see the look she was giving her, "Tassa."

"Thank you for this, Tassa. And you can just call me Zelda."

"Alright then. I'll be right back Zelda."

Tassa dove into the pool, leaving reborn Princess alone to look around the grotto. The last time she was here was with Ruto. There were people shopping around the grotto visiting the different stands and kiosks selling whatever pieces of worthless crap idiots just love to buy to prove they know a little something about a different culture.

But now, the grotto is empty. There are a few stands here and there, but no trinkets or souvenirs sitting on them, or someone manning it. No sound of chattering and haggling overwhelming her ears. Instead the roar of the Domain's falls is the only thing that can be heard. Zelda felt oddly at peace here. The Zora were supposed to be the favored people of Nayru. Maybe that's why she always felt an affinity for the aquatic race.

A splash from pool alerted Zelda that someone had come from the underwater city. And if that didn't the high-pitched squee would have, "ZELDA!" a young female Zora sprung up from the pool, bounced over to Zelda, but stopped herself from hugging her. "Oops! Still wet." She leans in and kisses the air near both of Zelda's cheeks.

"Do you need anything else, Princess?" The guard said emerging from the pool a moment after Ruto.

Ruto just rolled her eyes, "No, we're fine." The guard nodded while pounding her fist to her chest in some form of salute before walking out of the grotto to return to her post. "For Nayru's sake, these guards." Zelda heard Ruto muttering under her breath before turning back to her friend.

"OMG! It is so good to see you again Zelly. How long has it been?'

Zelda couldn't help but smile at Ruto's enthusiasm. Her seemingly limitless energy was one of the things Zelda loved most about the Zora. "At least two years. Too long in my opinion." Ruto had barely changed since Zelda last saw her. She was still an inch or two taller than her, her fins around her hips and wrists still strongly resembled a dress, and the top of her head was more diamond shaped, fairly common among female Zora. What did change are her ear rings. Last time Zelda saw Ruto, she'd always wear large hoops, but now she's wearing smaller sapphire one, probably because the hoops would be too unwieldy now that she spends more time underwater.

They sit down on a few steps surrounding grotto. "Yeah, no kidding. So…What brings you here? Just had to see lil ol' me?"

Zelda just chuckled softly, "I wish it was that simple; but no." Ruto looked confused. "I need to ask you for a favor."

The aquatic princess may have been a party girl, but she could be serious when the situation called for it. And sensing Zelda's mood, she figured now saw one of those times. "Yeah, Zel…No problem. I'll get you anything you need"

"Good." Zelda took a deep breath before starting, "Ruto, I need the Zora's Sapphire."

Ruto just stared at Zelda for a moment. Then she started shaking her head with an annoyed look on her face. "I don't fucking believe this." She shot up and walked towards the pool in the center.

Zelda followed her up, "Wait, Ruto. I know this might seem crazy, but I need the sapphire. It's a small gem stone-"

"I KNOW what it is!" She yelled, turning on a heel back to Zelda. The act took Zelda by surprise, and hesitated to say anything else. "What I want to is why YOU want that stupid thing."

"What do you mean?"

"I. HATE. That little blue hunk of rock. All my life people have been telling me 'How important it is that I learn about the Zora's history.' 'That I must take my responsibility as the Sage of Water seriously'."

Zelda stared at Ruto, a bewildered look plastered on her face. "Sage of-"

"Like I care about any of that crap! It's the 21st goddamn century! All that magic stuff is totally outdated!" She looked down with a sneer, "Probably why it didn't help my father."

Zelda's mind was working a mile a second, not sure what bit of information to latch onto first. "You know…about…"She shook her head, "Okay, Ruto, slow down. What's this about your father?"

The furious look Ruto held faded quickly, leaving her with a more sullen expression instead. "My dad's sick. Like, really sick. We brought every doctor and shaman in the tribe to examine him…but…" Ruto sunk to her knees as she began to cry. "No one…No one's been able to do anything to help. The doctors say he only has a few weeks left. And that's if he's lucky."

Zelda walked over and kneeled down next to her, "Oh, Ruto…"

Zelda tried to place a comforting hand on Ruto's shoulder, but she swats it away, "And do you know why he's sick?" Zelda just sat there. Ruto clearly wasn't done ranting yet as she stood up and started pacing, "Because some blue chick showed up, demanded that stupid rock, and when dad didn't give it to her; guess what happened!?"

"She cursed him…"

"My dad is dying because of that dumb thing. I would have smashed it years ago if I thought of it. And now…Now…" Ruto was at tears at this point, finding it hard to continue. "Why do you want it? Why do you want something that's been ruining my life!?"

Zelda, now standing as well, started at Ruto with sadness in her eyes, trying to think of a way to explain the situation. She finally decided to just be as direct as possible, so she took off her glove, "This is why." She holds up her hand showing Ruto the Triforce on the back.

Ruto started wide eyed at Zelda's hand. She took a few steps closer to the Reborn Princess and ran a thumb across the mark. "This is real…" Then she looked Zelda right in the eyes, "You're real…"

Zelda just nodded. "The Hero is with me too." She said putting her glove back on. "That why we need the Sapphire. To…"

"Unlock the Master Sword." Again, Zelda nodded. Ruto smirked slightly, "Heh, I guess all those old stories mom used to tell me were true."

"Seems that way." Zelda said with a shrug. "Ruto. I know you're going through a lot right now. And I wish I-"

"The bad guy…" Ruto suddenly interrupted Zelda, "That evil, demon, thief king dude. He's back too. Isn't he?"

Zelda hesitated before answering, "Yes."

Ruto sighed, "That, kinda makes my problems not seem as important, huh?"

"Of course your problems are important, Ruto." Zelda placed a hand on the Zora's shoulder. "You may have always had a problem with priorities," She said with a hint of humor in her voice, a smile finding its way onto Ruto's face "But your concern for your father IS important. Don't think that it isn't."

Ruto couldn't help but pull Zelda into a tight hug, which the Princess returned in full, "How do you always know the exact right thing to say."

"What can I say? Triforce of Wisdom" They separate with a more content expression gracing Ruto's face.

"Alright so…Zora's Sapphire, right?"

"That's right. We still need it. Could you get it for us?"

Ruto shook her head, "The Sapphire is in the city."

Zelda's shoulders shagged, "It isn't?"

"No it's in an old temple in Lake Hylia. It was built so only a Zora could enter it."

"Great." The Princess grumbled.

The aquatic princess however just smirked, "That is until you smart lil Hylians invented scuba."

Zelda's face brightened significant. "So you can take us to find it?"

Ruto winked at her, "Anything for my girl." Ruto jumped back into pool at the center of the grotto. She was in there for a few moments before popping back out of the water with another guard following close behind.

"Alright, let get going."

"You're free to go?"

Ruto sighed and rolled her eyes, "Well…Yeah. Except I have to bring a guard with me."

Zelda nodded complacently, "Of course, I understand."

The Three of them left the grotto as the guard mutter "At least someone understands." Under her breath.

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><p>Link and Midna had been waiting for almost an hour now. The guard didn't talk to them. They ran out of things to say to each other after a few of minutes. And now they were sitting around waiting. Midna had curled up against a rock to take a quick nap, while Link just sat by the river bank. <em>Man, I wish I had a fishing line or something.<em> He thought as a school of fish swum by.

The guard suddenly stood at attention, grabbing Link's. He looked over to see Zelda walking back along with another guard and a Zora girl. He stood up and walked over to Midna to wake her up.

"Go away, Zant. It's too damn early."

Creasing his brow, Link shook Midna a little and she jolted awake. "Wha…What's happening?"

"Zelda's back." Link pointed over his shoulder.

Midna stretches before standing up, "About time."

"I hope you two weren't too bored while waiting for us." Zelda said when she came up to them.

"My ass is asleep." Midna deadpanned.

Zelda giggled softly, "Sorry."

"Zelda, you shouldn't be apologizing. I seriously have to teach you how to be a princess." Ruto said.

Midna's indignation was clear as day, "I'm sorry, who is this now."

"Oh, right. This is Ruto." Zelda says gesturing to the Zora Princess. "She said she could help us find the Zora's Sapphire."

Link stepped forward, excited, "Really? That's great!"

Before Zelda could reply, Ruto cleared her throat and whispered to her, "Introduce us."

"O-oh, um. Well, Ruto this is Link Masters, the Hero I was telling you about." Link quirked a confused eyebrow, but waved a greeting all the same. "And this is his friend Mid-"

"Yeah, fascinating." Ruto pushes past Zelda and walks right up to Link, "So, Link…You the Hero?"

"Uh…Yeah?"

Ruto leaned against Link's chest tracings circles on his shirt with her finger, she said, "Well, how'd you like to be a Hero AND a prince?"

"Oh my god, Ruto!" Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration of her friend.

"What! Tell me why I shouldn't I try to get a piece of Hylian hunk?"

"Link and Zelda are married." Midna stated with an amused smirk.

"No we're not!" The Hero and Princess yelled in unison, both their faces warming up.

The Goth, however just waved their denial off, "Ah, don't listen to them. They just have a problem with PDA. Let's get going." She starts walking away from the Domain.

Ruto looks back at Link, slightly disappointed. "Well, at least I know my girl has good taste in men." Patting Link shoulder while walking past him, the Zora princess follows Midna; the female guard trailing close behind.

Link and Zelda glanced at each other with a blush before following their friends.


End file.
